Breaking: As we press the publish button, it appears that Delta has cancelled its “final” Boeing 747 flight between Detroit and Seoul. That’s kinda awkward for all the aviation and 747 geeks who bought tickets for the final flight. Hmmm. Appears flight is rescheduled for Monday. We’ll monitor, but here’s the Flight Aware status report. Reporter Zach Honig is in Detroit hoping to board the flight and its tweeting about the mishap.

I did it. For years I’ve reported on the boom on Europe’s river boat cruising biz….last week I finally took one! I’ll tell you all about it in an upcoming Trip Report! Have you been on one? Check out my Instagram to see more photos from the trip, but here’s the Viking Gullveig.

Today’s flight is United’s final journey for the Boeing 747 pictured here loading up for the trip SFO to Honolulu (Image: United)

Not everyone could be on United’s final Boeing 747 flight today, including me. But I’ve been watching the event unfold on social media while flying across the Pacific on a brand new wi-fi equipped Cathay Pacific A350 by following #UA747Farewell on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. (Click on the links to see the stream).

It looks like a fun trip, which included toasts by United CEO Oscar Munoz and a cast of lucky passengers and flight attendants (mostly) dressed up in 70’s garb.

United flight attendants lining up for a pre-flight photo opp at the airport (Image: United)

The trip got off to a rocky start with a maintenance delay (not unexpected for a plane destined for a desert retirement!), but then took off and made a dramatic exit right over the top of San Francisco, and then a low run over the Golden Gate Bridge before turning out over the Pacific for the final 2,500-mile flight to Honolulu. Check out the flight path here.

While I was unable to make this trip, our writer Nancy Branka is onboard and will have a full report on her experience later this week.

The flight included a special meal catered by Trader Vic’s…and plenty of mai-tais!

A special Hawaiian style menu for United’s final 747 flight to HNL (Image: United)

United says, “From a 1970s-inspired menu to retro uniforms for flight attendants to inflight entertainment befitting of that first flight, the ‘Queen of the Skies’ is being sent off in style. Seats for this flight sold out in less than 90 minutes when this farewell celebration was announced in September.”

Delta will retire its Boeing 747s in December while other international carriers such as British Airways and Qantas (as well as many cargo carriers) will be flying them for many more years. Also, the newer Boeing 747-8 flown by Lufthansa, Korean Air and Air China should be around for decades.

There was also a very nice goodbye to the graceful Queen of the Skies on CBS This Morning on Sunday. Here’s the 5-minute clip in case you missed it.

What will you miss most about the Boeing 747? What do you think about the new generation of planes taking over long distance flying, such as the Boeing 777-300 or 787 Dreamliner…or the Airbus A350 and A380? Please leave your comments below.

San Francisco International’s new outdoor observation deck will be located at the end of Boarding Area G (Image: Google Maps)

Remember when we wrote about the new public, outdoor observation deck going into the space where SFO’s control tower used to be? Here’s that post.

Well, that idea was so well received that the airport will add a second deck… but this one will actually open first.

Look at the photo above and you’ll see a tan area at the end of the terminal– that’s where the new deck will be located.

The new outdoor observation deck will be located at the end of the International Terminal Boarding Area G (United/Star Alliance side). What’s really cool about this location is that you’ll be able to almost reach out and touch the noses of the A380s that dock there– look at the photo and you’ll see the telltale sign of an A380 jetway– it’s really three jetways in one, which is necessary to load and unload the big bird.

The new deck will not only offer great views of big planes, runways and the South San Francisco sign on San Bruno Mountain– airport spokesperson Doug Yakel tells TravelSkills that it will also include a “food and beverage concept.” He said that the airport is simply reconfiguring for public use a deck that is already there.

The new deck should open next year- December 2018. The public deck atop Terminal 2 (image below) won’t open for two more years– December 2019.

Rendering of Terminal 2 – see the observation deck in the lower right? (Image: SFO)

Do to its location beyond security, the Boarding Area G deck will only make sense for passengers ticketed on flights departing United’s Terminal 3 or boarding area G, unlike the Terminal 2 deck which will have pre-security access for non-ticketed passengers. For reference, see a full airport map here.

What a great place to cool your heels as you wait for your flight? All the more reason to get to the airport early, right?

The swank outdoor terrace at the new Star Alliance lounge at LAX (Chris McGinnis)

Outdoor spaces have been gaining popularity in recent years at US airport, but they’ve been built to delight members of airport clubs for the most part. For example, Delta has outdoor space at its Sky Clubs in Atlanta and New York. The Stay Alliance lounge in Los Angeles has a nice outdoor space– with fireplaces!

Earlier this year, Alaska Air hinted that it may open a new Alaska Club with an outdoor deck space atop T2 terminals, but we’ve heard less and less about that effort in recent months.

South Florida is one of the most popular fall & winter travel destinations- and fares are CHEAP (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fares are tumbling to warm weather destinations this winter from California! If you could not take advantage of the rare fare sale to Hawaii this week, then you may want to consider a flight in the other direction– to Miami, Ft Lauderdale or Orlando. Or perhaps Floridians are looking for a nice escape to the West Coast?

American, Virgin America, JetBlue and United are all offering some remarkably low fares between the Bay Area and South Florida– as low as $251-$267 round trip! That’s an especially good deal considering you’ll be flying during the the Bay Area’s cold, wet months of January and February. These super low fares are also available in November and early December, but do not include peak holiday weeks. Sacramento is included in this sale, with one stop flights to FL. San Jose is in there, too, at $234 round trip to Orlando.

Even better, most of these ultra-low fares are not those irritating “Basic Economy” fares– they fare regular economy fares with all the benefits that come with that. Frontier is also in this sale, with insanely low fares, too, with fares as low as $152 round trip, but with lots of extra fees. See fee menu

It’s very rare to see fares under $300 for transcon flights— and this one is a whopper at about 2,500 miles in each direction.

Air New Zealand flies a 777-300 like this on its LAX-AKL run (Photo: Air New Zealand)

When fares to New Zealand dip below $1,000, it’s time to prick up your ears. Especially if you can go when it’s winter here and summer down there!

Today United and Air New Zealand announced a very good deal for flights between San Francisco SFO or Los Angeles LAX to Auckland AKL with fares from just $945 roundtrip. (Plus when booking on United you’ll earn a cool 13,000 MileagePlus miles for this looong roundtrip.)

What’s best about this sale is the timing… you’ll travel during the dark cold days of fall winter in the US to the sunny summer shores of New Zealand in late October, November, early December, late January and almost all of February, March.

Act fast: To get the deal, you must book your trip by Thursday Oct 12.

United:

A quick check of United’s fare calendar shows tons of availability in Feb and Mar for SFO-AKL (Image: United)

Lufthansa flies three aircraft with staircases onboard. Can you name them? Answer at end of this post!(Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last week I took on an unusual assignment: Lufthansa asked me to “take over” its Twitter account and post a series of observations about my trip from San Francisco to Paris via Munich.

Having never flown to or from Munich Airport (MUC), I was eager to have a look around since it’s considered Europe’s best airport by many frequent travelers. I was also interested in flying Lufthansa again– last time I took to the skies on LH was when it first deployed its Airbus A380 between Frankfurt and SFO— way back in 2012.

On SFO-MUC, it uses an Airbus A340-600 with a very unusual feature: a staircase leading to a below-deck bank of lavatories and the crew rest area. I’d often heard about this, but had never actually seen it, so as soon as I boarded, I went straight to the staircase for a photo shoot 🙂

What else made this an attractive offer? Oktoberfest of course! Alas, the day I departed the US (Oct 3) was the last day of Munich’s big celebration, so when I arrived the city was pretty quiet. But it was a big surprise to find the Lufthansa crew on this flight dressed in dirndls and lederhosen— something that Lufthansa surprises passengers with on flights from around the world to Munchen during the festival.

Disclosure: In exchange for my Twitter takeover, Lufthansa covered the cost of my roundtrip airfare. I paid for hotels, transfers, wi-fi, meals and everything else associated with the trip.

Come on along for the trip, check out my tweets and photos, and let me know what you think!

Well, this week I’m uncovering similar deeeeep discounts. How about just $75 round trip between San Francisco and Dallas? Or $99 round trip between San Francisco and Chicago?

And that’s on United Airlines, not one of the ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit or Frontier.

SFO-DALLAS

SFO-CHICAGO

That’s what I’m seeing from United this week.

Granted, those $75 or $99 round trip fares are those distasteful “basic economy” fares. That might work for someone who is not carrying on a big bag or someone who does not want to book a specific seat.

But you can “upgrade” to a regular economy fare for just $40 more, or just $119-$139 round trip. Regular economy fares include carry on bags and seat selection and frequent flyer miles.

SFO-DALLAS

SFO-Chicago

And $119-$139 roundtrip between SFO and Dallas or Chicago is a remarkable deal! It’s currently available for trips during the last week of October and the first week of November.

That fare (and many others like it) may not be there when you go to book– that’s just the way it is during the “shoulder season” when demand is low. If you see a fare that looks good BOOK IT because it’s not going to last.

Check out all these low round trip fares between SFO and Chicago on United! Crazy! (Source: Google Flights)

We’ll keep an eye out for more low fares like this in the coming fall and winter months… so sign up to TravelSkills email alerts to get the deals first! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

When I got off the plane late last night at SFO and called up Lyft for a ride home I was surprised when the app told me that the driver was only one minute away. I was still deep in the terminal and had to hustle to get to the curbside to keep him from waiting.

When calling up Lyft or Uber at the airport, have you noticed that your car shows up a lot faster these days? Well, there’s a good reason for that.

Starting last month both Lyft and Uber rolled out something called “Rematch” at four California airports: San Francisco International, Oakland International, Mineta San Jose International and Los Angeles International. This new functionality allows drivers to drop off AND pick up passengers simultaneously at the airport.

In the past drivers could enter airport grounds to pick up OR drop off passengers, but they could not do both. That meant passengers had to wait 5-8 minutes for the driver to get to the airport from a remote lot.

Uber and Lyft pick-ups at LAX changing (Image: Thomas Hawk/Flickr)

Officials at LAX said that they allow the practice to further reduce traffic in the central terminal area. In a press release, they said:

“Rematch works by increasing the number of persons who can be picked up during a single TNC [ridesharing] driver’s trip into LAX. Under regular TNC operating policies, TNC vehicles can enter the airport only to pick-up or drop-off passengers, but not both. For TNC companies authorized to use Rematch technology, following a drop-off trip, drivers may see a Rematch notification informing them of a passenger pick-up before exiting. If there is no Rematch notification, then the driver will exit the terminal area following his/her drop-off. Rematch requests will only be issued within the airport, and only to vehicles with confirmed drop-offs.”

Sounds like a good plan to me. Now if they can only do something about all the crowding at the designated pick up areas at LAX and SFO. It’s getting crazy congested curbside at peak hours. Have you noticed? Please leave your comments below.

Fares between the US and Australia tumble for 2018 trips- Qantas A380s sunbathing at LAX (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

When fares to Australia or New Zealand dip below $1,000, it’s time to sit up and take notice.

Today Qantas announced a very good deal for flights from the US to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane– with fares from San Francisco and Los Angeles starting at just $949 roundtrip. You can fly to Auckland, New Zealand from California for $999. From Dallas, fares are running at about $1,100 round trip. One stop flights from New York-JFK are just $1049 round trip.

What’s best about this sale is the timing… you’ll travel during the dark cold days of winter in the US to the sunny shores of Oz between February 5 and June 23. To get the deal, you must book your trip by Monday, October 2.

Fare chart from Qantas for economy roundtrips

For business travelers, premium economy fares are also discounted for this sale to around $2,300 round trip. Business class remains a steep $7,000+ round trip.

So far, United and Air New Zealand have not matched this sale, but stay tuned… it could happen in the next 24 hours.

Remote stands are common in Europe, like this one a Istanbul Ataturk Airport (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

To help meet the feverish demand for gate space, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines started using a remote stand at San Francisco International last month.

Remote stands are a lot more common overseas than they are in the U.S. where nearly every flight loads and unloads passengers via enclosed jetways at each gate. Instead, passengers take a bus (usually crowded) across the airport apron to or from a plane parked at a remote “stand.” At the plane, passengers use portable (or built-in) stairs to get to or from the doorway.

Remote stands are different from open air boarding at the gate seen at many smaller airports. These stands are usually located far from the gate and require a sometimes lengthy bus ride. (Last year at Heathrow, I was on one for about 20 minutes!)

Remote stands require a bus ride to or from the airport terminal (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

When flying down to Los Angeles last week I peered out the window of the plane and saw an Alaska Air Embraer parked at a remote stand with a passengers boarding via a staircase leading up to the door. A low-slung SFO bus was parked next to it.

Doug Yakel confirmed to TravelSkills that a remote stand has been in use at SFO since mid-August. “Right now, it’s being used by Alaska on a scheduled basis…about 4-5 of their Embraer aircraft per day are operating remote. This is due to the Alaska/Virgin growth, and their efforts to operate more in a single terminal, along with the fact that Terminal 1 is under construction right now.”

The bus runs from SFO’s gate 59 in Terminal 2.

In Greece, this Ryanair 737 uses its own built-in stairs for passenger access at the front, and portable stairs at the back. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Most travelers dislike remote stands since since they add a delay to the airport boarding/deboarding experience. I’m not sure how they comply with ADA requirements. Plus wind and rain can make using them less than comfortable. However as an aviation geek I find it exhilarating to be out on the ramp on a clear day with engines roaring and the smell of jet fuel in the air… but that’s just me 🙂

On the upside, remote stands do allow airlines to add new service or flights, and reduce the increasingly frequent and irritating “wait for the gate” type delays upon arrival.

What are your thoughts on remote stands? Have you used one at SFO yet? Anywhere else? Please leave your comments below.

In Los Angeles checking out the new hotel scene this week. Rooftop of the spectacular new Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This week Chris was in LA to have a few meetings and check out what’s happening on the hotel scene. Last time I was in LA was for the opening of the dramatic new InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, housed in the top floors of the city’s newest, tallest skyscraper. This week, I stayed at the brand new Kimpton Everly hotel in Hollywood, and will have a full report about my stay shortly. I was lucky enough to have time to check out the spectacular new Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills, located next door to the Beverly Hilton on the triangle where Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards intersect. While the lobby of the hotel is gorgeous, the real show is up on The Rooftop— take a ride up for lunch and soak up the spectacular views. Also new on the hot LA hotel scene is the recent opening of the 286-room Jeremy Hotel on Sunset Boulevard on the western edge of West Hollywood– it was first going to open as The James hotel, but that fell through and the showy property sat vacant for months. Now it’s the Jeremy, but not for long– word on the street is that the hotel will soon be the first West Coast outpost of Barry Sternlicht’s popular new One Hotels. Stay tuned!

TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order):

New flights to Mexico City and Guadalajara from Bay Area airports are bringing in some great fares– perfectly timed for summer vacation. (But you need to act fast.)

Update: This fare war is spreading to Los Angeles airports where we are seeing similar low fares.

Both cities are fun cosmopolitan capitals with much to see and do– rich history, robust food scenes, nice hotels and even nicer people. Plus, you’ll find cool weather due to high altitudes- Guadalajara’s elevation is 5,140 feet above sea level. Mexico City is even higher at 7,350 feet.

In early August, Alaska Airlines jumps into the SFO-Mexico City market, and it’s offering introductory fares of just $320 round trip. That’s quite a good deal during peak summer travel season. Volaris and Aeromexico are offering similar $300-ish roundtrip fares. First class fares on Alaska are $637.

UPDATE! Today Alaska Air launched a one day fare sale, with fares as low as $240 round trip between the Bay Area and Mexico City! And this is during peak summer travel season in August. Check this out… only good today, Tuesday, July 11 til midnight.

This week Aeromexico kicks off new nonstops between San Jose and Guadalajara. It’s an increasingly crowded route– Aeromexico’s nonstop joins Alaska Airlines and Volaris (a Mexican low-fare carrier) on the route.

San Jose International welcomes a new nonstop from Guadalajara, one of many new destinations added this year. (Photo: SJC)

All that competition means cheap fares from all Bay Area airports– as low as $291 round trip from SFO or SJC. First class fares are relatively cheap, too, at just $566 round trip.

UPDATE: Volaris has dropped fares on SJC-GDL or SFO-GDL to as low as $221 round trip. Delta SkyMiles members should keep an eye on those Aeromexico fares- you’ll only earn 50% mileage (about 1,500 miles) on the cheap fares- but hey something’s better than nada.

Note: Fares were available on Google Flights on Monday, July 10 and subject to change.

And if you are looking for even better deals, keep an eye on these routes as we enter the slower fall months. More competition could lead to lower fares.

I flew down to Mexico City for a BBC story four years ago and fell in love with the place. I wrote: “Despite headlines about drug-related violence along its northern border, Mexico’s capital is quietly evolving into a modern, cosmopolitan and convenient city that will surprise visitors who arrive with pre-conceived notions. For business travelers with adventurous palates, Mexico City’s vibrant dining scene recently had the Wall Street Journal wondering if it could be “the world’s greatest food city”. Its dynamic and diverse stock of hotels also provides something for every business travel budget, from sparkling five-star skyscrapers to minimalist or historical luxury boutiques.”

I’m ready to go back! Have you or would you fly to Mexico City or Guadalajara?

I’ve been to Honolulu several times and have always enjoyed flying Hawaiian Airlines. After a two-year break from visiting Oahu, I bought a roundtrip Economy ticket in mid-December for $588. I flew from SFO to HNL in June and got to check out some of the new features on their Airbus A330.

(This Trip Report is written by TravelSkills’ very own Kim Grimes.)

Sleek Premium Cabin seats (Image: Kim Grimes)

Chris contacted Hawaiian Airlines in advance and arranged for me to get on the plane before boarding to snap some photos. The crew seemed to be in a bit of a rush but they were very kind and welcoming. I checked out the sleek new lie-flat seats in the Premium Cabin first.

The lie-flat seats are in sets of two (2-2-2) with nature-inspired dividers in the center that you can pull up out of the arm rest for privacy. The reclining wheel in the arm rest allows for passengers to lie flat or find the perfect spot for them anywhere between flat and upright. When the seat is completely flat, it connects to the footrest efficiently adding length for comfort.

The modern design includes plenty of in-seat power with two USB ports and an AC port in each seat. Passengers in the premium cabin are given tablets to enjoy in-flight entertainment which they can place on the adjustable retractable tablet stand in the arm rest.

After taking a moment to enjoy the lie-flat seat, I moved on to check out the Extra Comfort seats. These seats are similar to the Economy seats in appearance, but they have extra leg room and come with a few additional amenities.

When I tried Extra Comfort, I had plenty of room to stretch out my legs with 36″ pitch – or more in the bulkhead (Image: Kim Grimes)

Extra Comfort seats have a pitch of 36 inches which was more than enough room for me, at 5’4’’, to fully extend my legs while seated. In addition to the spare room to stretch out Extra Comfort passengers receive benefits like priority boarding and access to a priority security line at select airports, including SFO.

An aisle seat in Economy class: 37C (Image: Kim Grimes)

After I took photos of the premium and Extra Comfort seats, it was just about time to board. I went back to the gate to meet my family and then made my way to the Economy seats noting the nice and relaxing Hawaiian music that played throughout the cabin. I always claim the window seat and got comfortable in 37A with my sister seated next to me in 37B.

I was feeling a little stressed after guiding my family through the airport, so I really appreciated watching Hawaiian musicians play calming and welcoming songs on the seatback entertainment screen before takeoff. Hawaiian Airlines offers an unlimited television and film package for $7.99, but I never pay for in-flight entertainment and opted to flip through the Hawaiian Airlines magazine. The magazine is called Hana Hou! meaning “Encore!” They always have interesting stories about local businesses, Hawaiian culture, and art. I particularly enjoyed its interview with the creator of Hawaiian Ola noni beverages that I love drinking for an energy boost.

View from the back of economy cabin on a Hawaiian Air A330 (Image: Kim Grimes)

For the morning meal service, Economy class passengers received a hot breakfast sandwich, fruit, and a cookie from the Honolulu Cookie Company. I decided to have some guava juice with my meal as well.

I ate the fruit first which was nothing spectacular, but it was refreshing. The sandwich was really heavy and tasted mostly like buttery biscuit to me. I’m not usually keen on biscuits, but I ate the whole thing hoping that it would help me fall asleep; it definitely did.

My favorite part of the meal was the chocolate chip macadamia cookie. I love these cookies from the Honolulu Cookie Company but rarely buy them because I find them to be a bit pricey, so I was excited to enjoy one for free on the flight.

After the meal service, I tuned in to one of the free Hawaiian music radio stations and dozed off.

Koloa rum punch was so good that I had to stop and get my own bottle later. (Image: Kim Grimes)

I woke up a little over an hour before we landed just in time to receive my complimentary snack and cocktail. The cocktail was Hawaiian rum punch made by the Koloa Rum Company. The premixed cocktail had Koloa white rum from Kauai, lilikoi (passionfruit), orange, guava puree, and locally sourced cane sugar. I was worried it would be too sweet for me, but it was actually really well-balanced and delicious with my Sweet Maui Onion Hawaiian Chips.

Landing around noon at HNL (Image: Kim Grimes)

Although we left SFO a little late, we landed in Honolulu on time at 11:45am. Overall, our flight was smooth and enjoyable as all of my flights with Hawaiian Airlines have been. I really appreciate the effort that they put in to making passengers feel comfortable and welcomed.

Now let’s take a look at my return flight:

Lunch service as presented by FA with coupon for free custom Shutterfly photo book (Image: Kim Grimes)

Two weeks later, my family and I returned to SFO with Hawaiian Airlines. On this flight, I was really looking forward to the afternoon meal service since the airline usually serves a stir-fry and rice which is one of my favorite comfort meals in economy class.

On this flight, I had a chicken and vegetable stir-fry with white rice, coleslaw, and a cookie from Honolulu’s La Tour Bakehouse. Complimentary red or white wine was offered with this meal, but I opted for a POG (passion orange guava) juice instead.

Returning to the Bay Area at sunset (Image: Kim Grimes)

I fought the urge to fall asleep and stayed up for the majority of this flight reading and glancing out the window. I love when I can catch the sunrise or sunset during a flight and was happy to see the sun setting shortly before we landed at SFO. It was a beautiful way to end a long vacation.

We’re giving away a trip for two to Hong Kong this summer! Ready to go? (Image: Pixabay)

UPDATE:Contest is now closed to entries. We’ll announce the winner on Friday, June 30. WINNER ANNOUNCED!

We are thrilled to announce that TravelSkills and Singapore Airlines have teamed up to offer TWO round trip tickets between San Francisco and Hong Kong to a very lucky reader!

Singapore Air’s new premium economy seat and service will debut on the busy San Francisco-Hong Kong route on July 22. (Flights SQ1 and SQ2) That introduction will complete the carrier’s rollout of the popular new service on all flights from all four of its U.S. gateways: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Houston.

Would you like to give the new seat a try (for free) and write about it?

Here’s how our contest works: Regular readers of the TravelSkills blog are familiar with our famous Trip Reports— where we chronicle inflight experiences on a wide variety of airlines. Over the last year, a growing number of TravelSkills readers have submitted their own Reader Reports— many of which have become some of the blog’s most popular posts!

To find the right reader for this trip, we’ve created a contest and will pick a winner for the two tickets.

Interested? Then fill out the entry form below by June 28 and tell us why YOU would be the best person for this mission. We’ll review all entries by June 30 and choose a winner based on several factors: Cleverness, eagerness, writing style, ability to take good photos with a phone or camera, and an explanation of what a trip like this would mean to you personally. (Keep your entries to less than 300 words, please.)

All we ask the winner to do is to take notes, plenty of photos and then write about your premium economy experience on Singapore Airlines. (Submitting a report to us within two weeks of your return.) That’s it! Don’t worry if you’re not a professional writer– I’m happy to help the winner craft and edit his or her Report.

Some important notes: We are only providing air transportation for this trip. The winner is responsible for all other costs related to this trip such as hotels, visas, transfers, food, etc. Both tickets must be booked together. We are not responsible for additional costs due to irregular operations such as delays and cancellations. The winner is responsible for obtaining proper visas or any other documents needed for travel to Hong Kong. We’d prefer that the winner travel on the inaugural outbound flight from SFO (Friday, July 21) to enjoy the airport and inflight festivities celebrating the service. But we realize that may not be possible– so the winner could take the trip any time before August 30. (Note: Be sure to read the full official contest rules at the bottom of the entry form!)

Singapore Airlines new premium economy seat will soon be onboard all its Airbus A350, A380 and B777-300ER aircraft from the U.S. With a 2-4-2 configuration you’ll get 38-inches of pitch with eight-inches of recline. For entertainment, there are big 13.3-inch touchscreen HD monitors, noise-canceling headsets, power outlets, and two USB ports. Dining? You can reserve your main course from a variety of “Book the Cook” dishes up to 24 hours before you fly, or select from three meal choices on board– all served with Champagne.

Currently, roundtrip premium economy fares on Singapore Airlines for late summer trips are running about $1,900.

Ready to go? Then fill out the form embedded below (or click here)… and hurry! The contest ends midnight PT on Wednesday, June 28. We’ll select the winner by Friday June 30! And the winner will take off for Hong Kong as soon as July 22!

Increase your chances of winning by sending this post to your potential trip companions- so they can enter, too! 🙂

Disclosure: Thank you for reading TravelSkills! We will periodically send out messages like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel. Our sponsors’ support, and yours, help us keep TravelSkills a free publication.

A brand new on-airport Grand Hyatt coming to SFO in 2019. Scroll down for fly-thru (Photo: SFO)

San Francisco International Airport broke ground this week on the new Grand Hyatt at San Francisco International Airport, a new luxury hotel located on airport grounds, which should open in mid-2019.

The hotel will be located to the right of the airport’s roadway entrance, adjacent to the International Terminal parking garage. (Don’t miss the fly-thru below!)

It will face the large apron area behind the International Terminal A, offering fantastic views of Boeing 747s from British Airways, KLM and Qantas (among others).

Here’s what rooms will look like at SFO’s new Grand Hyatt (Rendering: SFO)

The hotel will have direct access to the airport AirTrain rail system– Hyatt expects that 60 percent of hotel visitors will arrive via the AirTrain to the lobby on the fourth floor. The roadway entrance will face the airport, with the noses of big jets peering over the blast fencing from the apron. Guests arriving by road will take elevators up to the fourth floor lobby.

Grand Hyatt at SFO will feature 351 rooms, 15,000 square feet of meeting space, several restaurants, a Grand Club lounge and an extensive fitness center. Regrettably, there will be no viewing deck on the roof as previously hoped. But views from rooms, conference facilities and dining venue will be outstanding. Not sure I could pay much attention in a meeting when there’s a 747 lumbering past outside the window!

Check out the video below for a fly around the exterior of the new hotel.

The $237 million Grand Hyatt at SFO is being designed by San Francisco-based architecture firm Hornberger + Worstell with ED2 International, and constructed by Webcor Builders. The construction is expected to provide 350 jobs followed by an anticipated 200 hospitality jobs once the hotel opens.

What do you think? Are you an airport hotel regular… or not? Please leave your comments below.

This week two rare birds touched down in the Bay Area. Both are offering super cheap transatlantic fares for summer trips.

On Thursday, Finnair landed at SFO, flying in from Helsinki, Finland. Over at Oakland, a brand new airline called Level arrived from Barcelona.

Finnair is flying into SFO with seasonal service– three times a week during summer months only. Currently the lowest roundtrip economy fares between SFO and HEL are running about $1,200 to $1,500 for peak summer flights– not a bad deal for the 11-hour flight. Business class fares are about $2,900 roundtrip.

Here’s what Finnair business class looks like:

Finnair business class on an Airbus A330 (Photo: Finnair)

Next up, we have Level, which breezed into Oakland from Barcelona on Friday with some of the cheapest fares we’ve seen this summer. Its A330 holds 314 passengers and economy and premium economy configuration (no business or first class).

A Level A330 arrives at Oakland International from Barcelona (Photo: Port of Oakland)

Level is a new low-fare subsidiary of IAG, which owns British Airways and Iberia, and is offering some remarkable fares on the first ever nonstops between the Bay Area and Spain.

For summer trips, it’s offering startlingly low fares of just $400 round trip (seriously!) all the way through August! Get ’em while they are hot! Note that you’ll pay extra for checked bags, seat selection and food- see this. The cheapest premium economy fares we could find this weekend for summer trips are in the $1,200 to $1,500 range– a very good deal for a bigger seat, better service, and fewer fees!

A Picasso-inspired inaugural cake served at the gate at Oakland Airport (Photo: Port of Oakland)

If you are interested in a cheap trip to Europe this summer, now’s the time to pounce on these new flights– to fill seats, airlines have lowered fares to levels rarely seen before for deep summer trips.

Take a ride on these new birds and report back to us at TravelSkills about your experiences!

NOTE:The fares mentioned here are available on Saturday, June 3 and subject to change. We use Google Flights to find low fares.

The 1-2-1 configuration provides ample room for each passenger. There are two cabins assigned to business class, with the first having eight rows and the second having two rows (Photo: RW)

This is a TravelSkills Reader Report submitted by RW.

Back in 2014, you wrote a trip report on the then-new SAS nonstop from SFO to Copenhagen (CPH).

My husband and I recently (April-May 2017) flew SFO-CPH and CPH-SFO nonstop on SAS in the new upgraded business classes seats on its Airbus 340-300 planes, so I thought you might want to know about the new service. Feel free to use any of this (or none of this) information on your blog. [Thanks, RW! We are using all of it 🙂 Great report!]

SAS business class passengers have access to the United Club lounge in the SFO international terminal, which is a nice respite from the terminal, but certainly is not in the same league as the SAS Star Alliance Gold lounges in Scandinavia (more about those lounges later).

The seat is adjustable to a completely 180-degree lie-flat bed. The side storage unit contains a reading light, a water bottle (stored behind the reading light panel), a hook for the provided headphones, and a small shelf for personal items. (Photo: RW)

SAS has a “business saver” fare for half of its full fare, but the tickets are nonrefundable. That said, for the leisure traveler or the business traveler with fixed plans, a roundtrip SFO-CPH business-class fare of $3,200 is quite reasonable, particularly when compared to nonstop flights to “major demand” cities such as London, Paris, or Frankfurt.

An SAS Airbus A340 with new business class seats (Image: SeatPlans.com

SAS has installed new business-class seats in at 1-2-1 configuration in two cabins. The forward cabin has eight rows and feels spacious and accommodating. The second business-class cabin has only two rows, so it has a sense Danish sense of hygge that you mentioned in your SAS review. [Hygge, pronounced hoo-gah, is roughly translated into English as “cozy.”] However, the second cabin was directly behind the galley, snack bar, and toilets, making is a very busy and noisy area.

The entertainment screen is large and can be controlled via touch or a wired remote tucked into the space in the side storage unit (Photo: RW)

The front of the plane appears to be the rest area and toilet for the crew, compounding the “busy-ness” at the galley/toilet area mid-plane and reducing the number of toilets for business-class passengers to only two.

The new business-class seats have ample room, large video screens, and a “side table” for storage of small items. There is still no in-seat storage space for hand luggage, but with the large cabin and new large overhead bins, there is plenty of room for luggage and the provided duvet, blanket, and pillows. The seat is quite comfortable with a large foot well. It favorably compares to many other airlines’ first or upgraded business class configurations.

In-flight entertainment provided some of the latest Hollywood films, as well as several “old favorites.” The television show offerings were nearly all American shows from the 2000s and early 2010s, e.g., Friends, Mike and Molly, and Two Broke Girls. I would have liked to have seen some Scandinavian entertainment offerings.

The amenity kit was quite basic, but contained the essentials of eye mask, socks, toothpaste and brush, ear plugs, lip balm, and moisturizer. The bag was small, but reusable for small items such as ear buds, a few electronics cords, etc.

There is a special cocktail offered each season. The cocktail on the CPH-SFO segment was “A Taste of Norwegian Summer,” a combination of gin, rhubarb, tonic, and strawberry garnish (Photo: RW)

Wine offerings including Charles Heidsieck champagne from France, a verdicchio wine wine from Italy, a French sauvignon blanc, and, in the red category, there were a pinot noir and a corbières from France. A nice addition to the drinks menu was the nonalcoholic Gravenstein apple must from Norway, a rich, full-bodied, unfiltered apple juice.

The starter course for the dinner offering on the SFO-CPH leg included a mixed salad, plus a choice of either beet-cured salmon with cucumber and horseradish-chive crème or prosciutto with feta cheese, beets, and melon.

For my starter, I chose prosciutto with feta cheese, beets, and melon, along with ample choices from the frequently passed bread basket (Photo: RW)

The braised beef short ribs with Lyonnaise potatoes and roasted carrots was not particularly inspiring or tasty (Photo: RW)

Following a cheese course, passengers were offered dessert choices including a Bakewell tart with raspberry mascarpone, ice cream, or fruit.

On the return CPH-SFO flight, the starter course included a mixed salad, plus a choice of either salmon with picked root vegetables and mustard sauce or slices of dried pork, moose-and-juniper sausage, with a garnish of pickled onions and lingonberries (although the latter actually included only one pickled onion and one lingonberry).

My starter was slices of “dried pork” (prosciutto), moose-and-juniper sausage, and a picked onion and lingonberry. The dish was delicious (Photo; RW)

Arrival in Copenhagen was, as you described in your 2014 article, easy and efficient, with an efficient immigration/customs process, and a quick train trip to central Copenhagen. The only quirk in the arrivals area is finding where to pick up a Copenhagen Card, which provides transportation, admission to multiple museums and attractions, and discounts at restaurants and entertainment. Just look for the Tourist Information desk, and they have the Copenhagen Cards (either for pickup for those who purchased online ahead of their flight) or for purchase.

We took several internal Scandinavian flights during our trip, with all planes being configured in an “all economy seating” pattern. Even so, service was efficient and friendly.

Would you like to submit a Reader Report to TravelSkills? We’d love to hear from you, and so would readers! They are some of our most popular posts! Here are guidelines to submitting a report.

The SAS business-class lounge, available to Star Alliance gold members, has a wide array of food and beverage offerings, plenty of workspaces and chairs, all with easy access to an electrical outlet (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

We visited the SAS Star Alliance Gold lounge when we left Copenhagen to fly to Helsinki, as well as during our layover from Oslo before our CPH-SFO trip. The lounge is modern, the staff is friendly and professional, and the food offerings far exceed those of first-class lounges for U.S.-based airlines. Upstairs from the regular SAS lounge, the business-class lounge had multiple rooms for eating, resting, working, and a special play room for those traveling with children.

We also had the chance to visit the SAS lounge in Oslo, which was smaller than the one in Copenhagen, but still offering a wide array of food and beverage choices, along with work stations and comfortable seating options.

The SAS lounge in Oslo had a nice array of food and beverage options (Photo: RW)

Note that there is a new security procedure for passengers flying from Copenhagen to the United States. As noted on the SAS website, “United States authorities have tightened the security rules for entering US territory. As a result, an additional security check will be conducted at the gate when passengers board flights from Copenhagen Airport bound for US destinations. In particular, passengers must ensure that their smart phones, tablets, computers, digital cameras and other electronic devices are charged.” We found this process to be efficient, but be sure to allow time at the departure gate for this additional security procedure.

In conclusion, the business class experience on SAS was excellent. The staff on all our SAS flights were cheerful, courteous, friendly, and professional. In fact, given the savings we achieved by buying the “Business Saver” fare, we’re tempted to use CPH as our hub for future European travel.

Rich and Brad enjoy an outdoor lunch in Copenhagen at one of the restaurants along the Nyhavn waterfront, which was a 17th-century wharf that has been redeveloped into a trendy entertainment district, focusing mainly on restaurants and cafés. We had herring prepared in multiple ways in Heering, one of the outdoor cafés. While there were heaters, as well as blankets to cover our legs, we still kept our coats on all during their al fresco lunch – it was April and still chilly in Copenhagen (Photo: RW)

Have you flown on SAS in business class with the new seat yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Would you like to submit a Reader Report to TravelSkills? We’d love to hear from you, and so would readers! They are some of our most popular posts! Here are guidelines to submitting a report.

Departing SFO last week, I peered out my window at a rare site: a gigantic Russian Antonov An-124 cargo jet parked across the runways from airport terminals. I thought it was a one-time event, but I began hearing more about it from TravelSkills readers who have seen one or two of the behemoths over the last two weeks at SFO.

I reached out to airport officials at SFO to inquire about the planes, but only received vague replies: “Yes, we’ve had these Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft making semi-regular appearances over the past week, at times having two here simultaneously. None are here now, but the next one comes in tonight.”

When I asked why they are here, what they are transporting and where they are going, the airport said, “They’re coming from various locations, all for the same Bay Area company. I don’t have details on who…”

I’ve seen Antonovs at SFO before, but it’s been a very rare occurrence. What’s new now is that there are so many at SFO – sometimes two a day.

So I did a little digging around and found out that aviation geeks are equally interested in what’s up with these big birds making regular appearances at SFO.

On Tuesday, the excellent flight tracking site/app FlightRadar24 shows one of the planes (VI4819) departing Leipzig, Germany for Milan on April 28. From Milan, it traveled to Goose Bay (Newfoundland), Canada, and from there it flew to SFO. From SFO, it flew to Kinston, North Carolina, (near the Atlantic coast), which boasts one of the longest runways in that part of the country. Update: From Kinston, it flew to Nantes, France.

Walking my dogs last night, believe it or not, I spotted another Antonov flying over the city en route to SFO. I fired up FlightRadar24 and found that this one (VI3022, RA82077) originated in Tokyo and stopped over in Anchorage before arriving at SFO around 8 pm.

Airliners.net has a new string inquiring about the Antonov at SFO where one user speculates that the planes are in the Bay Area to pick up Teslas. (More on that here.)

A planespotter near SFO was surprised at his luck seeing the Antonov and shot this video of it on April 24:

Compared to an Airbus A380, the Antonov An-124 is slightly smaller: It is 226 feet long vs the A380 at 238 feet. And its wingspan is a bit narrower: 241 feet for the An124 vs 261 for the Airbus A380.

The Antonovs at SFO are owned by Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which according to its website is: “The world leader in the specialis [sic] market of oversize and super-heavy cargo transportation…Our customers include governmental and commercial organizations, including leading global businesses in the oil and gas, energy, aerospace, agriculture and telecommunications industries as well as the humanitarian and emergency services sectors.”

Here’s more on the Antonov An-124, which can carry a payload of a whopping 150 tons! The Antonov website says, “The AN-124 has been used to deliver 90 ton hydraulic turbines, the Liebherr large dimension mobile crane, the USA Euclid mine truck, the fuselage of the Tu-204 passenger aircraft, a 109 ton locomotive, General Electric GE90 aircraft engines, various combat vehicles, Lynx anti-submarine helicopters, a spaceship in its container and other unique cargoes. It rescued refugees and people suffered from natural disasters, transported tanks and Christmas trees, elite fast horses and cruise yachts, concert equipment and reconnaissance aircraft, banknotes and pure gold. The list of its cargo is endless – in this sense it can be called as the most universal airplane in the whole history of aviation.”

Have you seen this plane at SFO? Know anything about it? Please leave your comments, tips or speculation below.

>Chris discovers that new Basic Economy fares don’t offer much of a discount at all- as a matter of fact, they are a thinly veiled price hike for some travelers.

For business and personal reasons, I fly between San Francisco and Atlanta a lot. For an upcoming four-day trip in mid-May I’ve been monitoring fares for the past month or so.

I waited to book this trip until after Easter because airlines usually lower fares for “shoulder season” travel at about this time.

But this year, that does not seem to be happening. As a matter of fact, a new wrinkle emerged this week: Basic economy fares now apply on this route. Even if you don’t fly this route at all, stick with me here, because it could soon apply in just about any market.

Here’s the lay of the land on SFO-ATL: Both Delta and United offer nonstops on the route. Delta offers several per day, and United offers two. Generally the lowest economy fares hover at around $350 roundtrip in economy. I usually favor United when flying this route because it has convenient flight times, and with my elite status, I sit in Economy Plus and occasionally get upgraded to first class for the 4-5 hour flight.

Over the last year Frontier (SFO) and Spirit (Oakland) jumped into the nonstop market with one (or fewer) flights per day. Both have offered some jaw-dropping deals… I’ve seen them as low (or lower) than $200 roundtrip. But of course you have to factor in the ultra-tight seating, fees and possibility of cancellation– reasons I shy away from these flights.

For the past month, SFO-ATL roundtrips have sat stubbornly at around $420 on United and Delta. Spirit and Frontier’s fares were higher than normal, too. Around $360. (NOTE: These fares available on April 20 and subject to change.)

When fares did not come down by Tuesday this week, I was ready to throw in the towel and pay $420 on United. But something strange happened on Wednesday morning when I went to make my purchase: That $420 fare had increased to $470 and turned into a “basic economy” fare. If I wanted a regular economy fare, I’d have to pay $520, a $50 premium. On Delta, the basic economy fare was a steep $506, and the upgrade to main cabin was $26, so $532. Nothing cheap about that!

But wait… hold everything. I thought that United and Delta were adding a new low-fare option with basic economy. Not so in this case…both just slapped a basic economy label on the existing lowest fare and raised the standard economy fare. Neither of them actually lowered their fares to compete with Frontier’s lowest fare of $360.

When United pushed out its new fare category, it sounded like fares would come down in these markets— United even says so on its website: We’re introducing a new fare option, called Basic Economy, which is available on select routes and in addition to standard United Economy fares. Created for our customers who may be more price-sensitive, these lower-priced fares provide most of the same inflight services and amenities that are available with standard Economy.

When United introduced the unpopular new fares in Minneapolis earlier this year, president Scott Kirby said, “The launch of our Basic Economy product is transformational – offering customers seeking the most budget-conscious fares United’s comfortable and reliable travel experience across our unmatched network of destinations. Basic Economy lets you go where you want to go at our lowest available fare while enjoying United’s Economy cabin and the exceptional inflight service that comes with it.”

Meh! In this case, it appears that the introduction of Basic Economy fares is a thinly veiled price hike for business travelers who need things like seat assignments, elite qualifying miles, refunds, overhead bin space and the opportunity to upgrade.

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

From the San Francisco Chronicle: The Bay Area’s busiest gathering of designers right now might be tucked inside a hangar on the outskirts of San Francisco International Airport. That’s where 200 or so architects, engineers and other kindred spirits gather each weekday to chew on the details of a $1.5 billion project that won’t be finished until the end of 2022. And the first tangible result of their efforts — to rebuild an entire terminal without ever closing it — is the room where they work each day, a 33,000-square-foot, free-standing structure that was conceived and constructed in less than nine months. Full story and more photos here: Glimpse behind scenes as architects rebuild SFO terminal

Here’s the look of what’s to come at SFO Terminal 1 by 2022 (Photo: Gensler)

View of new observation deck looking from airport ramp and runways toward SFO Terminal 2. Gates are located beyond the lower left corner of this image. Scroll down for another view (Rendering: SFO)

Starting this month, the old air traffic control tower at San Francisco International Airport will come down, making room for a new outdoor public observation deck– a rarity at U.S. airports.

Last year SFO opened its shapely new control tower, making the old one obsolete…and a barrier to the full apron view required from the new tower.

So starting this month the old tower will be removed progressively with the aid of a crane, along with scaffolding on the upper floors of the building. Construction teams plan to have the top “cab” section of the former tower removed by the end of March.

SFO’s old tower coming down to make room for new public viewing platform with expansive views (Photo: Monte Deignan)

The project, budgeted at $55 million, will also remove the base structure below the former tower, which dates back to 1954 and does not meet current seismic requirements.

In its place, will be a new facility that will include offices, a café, and a glassed in public observation area, as the location affords views of all four runways at SFO. An airport spokesperson told TravelSkills that the plan is to have a pre-security entry point to the viewing area, which means you can enter it without having an airline ticket.

Eventually SFO will have another perch from which to peer at planes- a rooftop lounge atop the new on-airport Hyatt Regency — however its views will not be as commanding.

One of the best things about Tokyo Haneda is the big open air rooftop tarmac and runway-viewing area. Wow! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The project scope also includes an additional aircraft boarding gate in Terminal 2, anticipated to be ready for use by the end of March- just in time for Alaska Airlines big SFO expansion.

All phases of the project are expected to be completed by the end of January 2019. See you on the deck!

Outdoor observation decks at airport are relatively rare in the US… only recently has Delta added them to Sky Clubs in Atlanta and New York. The Star Alliance lounge in LAX has one, too, but views are limited.

United’s Economy Plus on the new Boeing 777-300ER packs ’em in at 10-abreast (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United has done a great job promoting the posh Polaris business class product on its brand new Boeing 777-300ER jets. But what’s going on behind the curtain in economy class is probably more important to a larger group of flyers.

This week we heard from a TravelSkills reader who flew Economy Plus between Newark and San Francisco on the new bird and sent us some thoughts on the experience.

First a little background: United currently has two Boeing 777-300ERs and says it will put a total of 14 of its new 777-300ERs into service during 2017. The aircraft will be configured with 60 Polaris business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout; 102 Economy Plus seats in a 3-4-3 layout; and 204 regular economy seats also in a 3-4-3 layout. Yes, that is 10-across, which seems to be the emerging economy class standard on new B777s at many carriers, including Air France, American, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qatar, and SWISS, among others.

United is rumored to be considering a “true” premium economy seat since both Delta and American have announced their intentions to do so. But there is nothing definitive from United so far. For now, Economy Plus on United is an economy seat with three extra inches of legroom.

First three rows of United Economy Plus on a B777-300ER- does not appear that bad when it’s empty (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Between now and May 4, United will fly a B777-300ER between San Francisco and Newark six days per week. Late last month it deployed a second B777-300ER on SFO-Newark which means there are now two flying the route (but only through March 8). On March 25, the aircraft will replace a 747-400 on the very competitive San Francisco-Hong Kong route (also serve by Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines).

I’m a regular reader of TravelSkills based in SF (thanks Chris for the interesting and helpful columns!) and after your post, I decided to try to new 777-300ER for a flight from EWR to SFO [5-6 hours]. Business class looked great, but I flew in Economy Plus, so here’s my review from the cheap seats.

Pros: The lighting is great. The seats are new and outfitted well (including power at every seat). Wifi actually worked pretty well on this flight.

Cons: The economy seats are just too narrow, making the flying experience miserable. I’m not a large person, and I’ve generally enjoyed UA E+, even on long trips. (For example, I flew on a UA 787 Dreamliner SFO-SYD last month in E+ and thought it was actually quite nice.) But my experience in E+ on the 777-300ER was awful.

I found it very difficult to work, and my neighbors and I got to know each other much better than I think any of us would have wanted. You are literally pushed up against the next passenger. Admittedly, my flight was full, and I expect that it would have been a very different experience with an open seat next to me. But with high load factors these days, you can’t count on an open seat next to you.

Bottom Line: I understand that United is going to add these planes to its SFO-Hong Kong route and other long haul flights. I flew SFO-HKG on a UA 747 last year, and I thought it was fine (although a bit aged and admittedly not nearly as nice as United’s 787). But I absolutely would not fly a UA 777-300ER in E+ on a long route [14.5 hours] like that.

In fact, based on my experience yesterday, I will actively avoid the UA 777-300ER in E+ on any route and would pay a premium to take a different plane, make a stop, or take another carrier to avoid these absurdly cramped seats.

Economy Plus rows 19-22 just behind business class and in front of a bank of lavs (Chris McGinnis)

Thanks for your Reader Report! If you would like to contribute a Reader Report to TravelSkills, check out our Reader Report guidelines.

Some additional notes regarding Amex: See below for Amex guest policy changes announced this week to fix overcrowding at lounges; additionally, we’ve heard from a few readers who called Amex to protest the 22% rate increase, and were offered a $300 credit on the spot to not cancel their cards)

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

This week Cathay Pacific announced that it would add a THIRD daily SFO-Hong Kong nonstop on October 29 using an Airbus A350, its first deployed in the U.S. The new jet will offer Cathay’s newest business class, premium economy and economy class seating (no first class). What’s really nice about this plane? It burns 25% less fuel (with corresponding reduction in emissions) and its carpet and blankets are made with nylon and plastic recycled from bottles and salvaged fishing nets, which pose a threat to marine life. Even better, this will be the first Cathay plane to offer inflight wi-fi– essential for those 12-14 hour flights to Hong Kong!

Cathay Pacific’s first U.S. A350 coming to SFO this fall (Photo: Cathay Pacific)

Over the last year there have been numerous TravelSkills posts about WOW Air and its ultra-low fares from the US to Europe. Until now we’ve only wondered what the experience might be like. But this week reader Jason Vaudrey submitted the following Reader Report describing his experience. Read it, and let us know if you’d take the plunge on WOW Air, too!

In mid-February, I flew WOW Air in economy class to Reykjavik (KEF) and met up with a friend and explored South Iceland. WOW Air began nonstop service from SFO this past year using an Airbus 330-200. On this widebody there are 319 economy class seats and 23 roomier XL seats.

My baseline fare was about $220 each way, but I ended up spending about $650 total roundtrip when you add in the extra fees. I reserved a specific seat which cost an additional $14 each way. I paid $71 each way to check my bag. I probably spent about $50 on inflight food and beverages (wine). I did not pay the $50 fee for my carry on because it was small enough to fit under the seat. [Currently, WOW is promoting base fares as now as $260 roundtrip for spring trips from both SFO and LAX.]

Flight time on SFO-KEF is about eight hours. I departed on Monday, February 13 at 11:20am and arrived to Reykjavik (KEF) on Tuesday, February 14 at 4:00am. On the return, I departed Reykjavik at 4:00pm and arrived to San Francisco at 5:10pm on the same day. There is an 8-hour difference between the west coast of the U.S. and Iceland.

I chose seat 5C outbound and on the return I sat in 5H. Both were aisle seats, but I noticed that 5C could not fit my backpack under the seat easily while 5H stored it very easily. And there was no metal box underneath the seat in front of me that would have prevented this from happening.

I also felt that on the return there was greater seat pitch. The WOW Air website indicates that there is 31 inches of seat pitch in economy, but it felt like the seat pitch was greater, even in 5C. WOW Air also offers 23 XL seats at the front of the plane with 34 inches of pitch. Here’s the WOW Air A330 seatmap from SeatGuru.com

The check-in process at SFO is smooth and they weigh all checked luggage at SFO, so that they confirm you paid the proper amount. They also tag your carry-on bag at the check-in counter and verify it at the gate, to indicate to the cabin crew that the bag will need to be placed underneath the seat in front of you.

Despite the vigilance of the ground staff, the cabin crew did not seem to care if you stored your bag in the overhead lockers, as I did with my backpack and many other passengers did, too. Unlike most flights, where there is a battle for overhead bin space, this was a non-issue on both flights.

There is no seatback entertainment system, but upon takeoff the cabin crew offers iPads for $16 that have movies available and there is an electrical outlet to charge your devices, but only one, so you will need to share with your seatmate. I did not rent an iPad, so I was unsure as to what was offered on them. No USB ports or wi-fi are available on board the airplane.

Chicken salad pre-ordered for flight from KEF back to SFO (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

There are charges for all beverages and snacks— there’s a plentiful selection and comparable with prices that you would pay for the same food in Iceland. They offer alcoholic beverages and a variety of specialty sandwiches for flights from LAX and SFO.

Online you may order food and prepay for the food for flights leaving Reykjavik, but preordering food for flights from SFO or any US destination is not available. If you are connecting in Reykjavik, you can pre-order food, but you will not receive it on your flight from SFO, but rather your connecting flight departing Reykjavik. I had pre-ordered a chicken salad on my return which was $16 and it was delicious.

Inflight food for purchase on WOW Air (Image: WOW Air)

Yes, a bottle of water is $3, so make sure to fill your water bottle at SFO prior to boarding. And no, they do not charge to use the lavatory.

The cabin crew brought out the beverage/food cart after takeoff offering a wide array of beverages and things to eat. Afterward they come around and offer duty free items. You may purchase alcohol on board and it might be wise to consider making a purchase (see below on alcohol in Iceland).

Throughout the flight, attendants encourage you to use your call button, and they are happy to bring you any item you need along with their mobile credit card machine (they do not accept cash). In fact, most places in Iceland have similar mobile devices and that worked out well.

Pleasant flight crew on WOW Air (Photo Jason Vaudrey)

After it was all said and done, I spent approximately $650 for my ticket purchased in the beginning of December for my trip in mid-February. And compared with Icelandair at $950, which would involve flying Alaska Airlines up to Seattle and connecting at Sea-Tac, I think the nonstop 8-hour flight on Wow Air is worth it. The employees (airport personnel, cabin crew, and pilots) were friendly and professional, the aircraft was extremely clean, plenty of items to purchase and items to satisfy both your hunger and entertainment needs.

There were approximately 100 seats empty on the outbound and 40 seats empty on the return flight. I went on Wow Air with the mindset that it was a budget carrier and I would have to pay for everything, and it worked out well.

The cabin crews on both flights were attentive, nice, and showed great hospitality. The seats were firm, but comfortable and the recline was decent. The lever for the seat recline was underneath the seat, as opposed to a button that you depress on the armrest. I managed to sleep four hours going to Reykjavik.

Relaxing in the Secret Lagoon on a Sunday afternoon in Fluoir about 100km from Reykjavik (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

One important note: In Iceland, alcohol is sold only at government owned stores named Vinbudin. In fact, Wow Air has a page describing the history of alcohol in Iceland and the rules surrounding it. The cost for alcohol along with most items, is extremely expensive and taxed heavily, so stock up on alcohol upon landing in their duty free before exiting arrivals!

We were there a week and chose to rent a car and explore southern Iceland, used Reykjavik as a base, and took day trips around southern Iceland. It is easy to get around, and the roads are well maintained. If that is not comfortable, day excursions can be planned easily in central Reykjavik on their main road: Laugauvegur.

Day trips are expensive and if you want to visit the infamous Blue Lagoon, book a reservation online early. We opted for the Secret Lagoon in Fluoir, which was not so much a secret, about 100 km from Reykjavik. It was wonderful. Many people were there, but it was not overwhelming and very enjoyable.

In February, the sun rises approximately at 9:30am and the sun sets about 6:00pm. The weather was not too bad and we were very fortunate, because upon leaving, it was forecast to snow.

Iceland is gorgeous and breathtaking. If you go in winter, seeing the Northern Lights is incredible. A quick trip just outside of Reykjavik and away from the light pollution of the city, you can witness it. We were fortunate to be able to view the Northern Lights one night when we realized how clear the sky was after returning from dinner in Reykjavik. But other than that, it was overcast each night.

United called in The Queen of the Skies to mop up a mess at SFO (Photo: United)

Who ya gonna call to mop up a big rainy mess at the airport? The Queen of the Skies, of course!

And that’s exactly what United Airlines did last Friday when a record-setting deluge hit the West Coast and gummed up the works along the busy California Corridor.

The airline sent in a Boeing 747 to shuttle hundreds of displaced passengers for a one-hour flight from San Francisco International to Los Angeles International.

Here’s what happened…

Last Friday, a big storm blew in off the Pacific causing delays and cancellations up and down the West Coast.

That afternoon we received an email from TravelSkills reader (and contributor) Dan Erwin, who saw something peculiar when he was flying SFO-LAX that day — a giant 747 positioned to fly as United flight #937 departing SFO at 12:15 p.m. He tried to switch flights to get on board (and what travel geek wouldn’t!), but there was no space available.

We both assumed that it was some sort of anomaly…maybe a random repositioning for a charter or something along those lines. The 747 had just flown in from Tokyo Narita, according to FlightAware.

United flight 937 SFO>LAX was hit by storms on both ends on Friday Feb 17 (Image: FlightAware)

But I reached out to my United contacts to find out, and discovered this was indeed a revenue flight…and it flew full!

A spokesperson said that United called in The Queen to accommodate all the passengers who had been on delayed or canceled flights that morning– and you can bet that on a busy Friday morning, there were a lot.

Imagine their surprise when passengers whothought they’d be boarding the standard Airbus A320 for the flight to LAX saw a Boeing 747 pull up to the gate instead. I’m sure there were a lot of frustrated, late passengers cursing the airline and the weather that morning, but I’ll bet many of them smiled at the sight of a bubble-top out the window!

There’s a fare war festering between major airlines and ultra-low-cost carriers between the West Coast and Chicago with fares as low as $120 round trip.

What’s best about this deal is that it is good for spring break travel– we’ve found super low, sub $150 roundtrip fares on SFO-ORD and LAX-ORD from now through the end of May.

The cheap fares are lead by the ultra lows: Spirit Air and Frontier. Both are offering fares as low as $100 round trip on this busy route, which is crazy. But keep in mind that you end up paying a price for using these guys…you are dinged for carry-on bags, seat assignments, and don’t get much love (or alternatives) if your flight is canceled or delayed. You might have to take a red-eye. But still, $100 round trip is tough to resist!

Majors have responded with ultra low fares of their own– we found nonstop deals on United, American, and Virgin America for as little as $120 round trip. We found American’s code share on new Alaska Air operated nonstops between San Jose and Chicago as cheap as $128. And these are regular economy fares, not the new stripped down “basic economy” fares loaded with restrictions and fees. Plus most of these flights are at decent times, you’ll still earn miles or points, and are not saddled with too many restrictions.

Big smiles, cake and a band greeted the first bay-to-bay flight in Tampa (Chris McGinnis)

Last week new United nonstops took off between Tampa and San Francisco with cakes and parties on both ends of the inaugural flight.TravelSkills was invited along to witness the event on a quick 24 hour turnaround trip.

There’s definitely a market for a SFO-TPA nonstop— flights in both directions were completely sold out. The Tampa to San Francisco route was the most underserved in the country, with nearly 600 passengers taking one-stop flights daily between the two regions, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The city’s growing startup scene was seeking better access to Silicon Valley, where much of the venture capital industry is based. In Tampa, city officials even launched a social media campaign to convince an airline to offer nonstop “Bay to Bay” service.

A big celebration in Tampa included balloons, a band, cake and a warm welcome (Chris McGinnis)

United is charging a premium for its nonstop— the cheapest roundtrip we could find for spring flights was $391. If you are willing to make a stop, you can fly bay-to-bay for as little as $292 on ultra low cost carrier Frontier (but be aware of fees) via Denver. Delta’s cheapest one-stop flights (via Atlanta) run about $328.

United is flying both 737s and A320s on the SFO-TPA route. Our 737 at SFO prepares for take off (Chris McGinnis)

United is running both 737s and A320s on the daily nonstops. From SFO, the flight departs around 9 am and arrives around 5 pm. On TPA-SFO, the flight departs around 6 pm and arrives in SFO at around 8 pm– these are well-timed flights for business travelers.

Hot breakfast (quiche) served on eastbound flights in first class (Chris McGinnis)

First class passengers get hot breakfast on the eastbound flight and dinner on the return. In economy class, there are hot and cold meals for sale.

The Bay-to-Bay route on United (Chris McGinnis)

Flying over Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon enroute to Tampa (Chris McGinnis)

The flight takes a scenic route from SFO over Arizona (including the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell), New Mexico, over the top of Dallas, out over the Gulf at New Orleans and arrives from the west at TPA. Ask for a window seat!

On the 5-6 return flight from Tampa, both wifi and BYO device movies were inoperable (Chris McGinnis)

I flew on a B737-900 eastbound, which offered wi-fi ($15) and Direct TV. On the return, we were on an Airbus A320. Regrettably (and all too commonly) the inflight wi-fi AND movie system was broken on this A320. Without seatback screens and the BYO device system on the blink, passengers had only Hemispheres Magazine to entertain them on the 5-6 hour flight. Flight attendants helped make the best of a bad situation, too, with many apologies great service (including regular pours of white wine 😉 )

A gates at Tampa International are big bright and airy- but be aware of construction in main terminal (Chris McGinnis)

While Tampa Airport is one of the most popular award-winning airports in the country, it’s in the midst of a massive renovation. There are construction detours, temporary walls and other obstructions that make navigating tough. Not horrible, but something to be aware of.

United flight 1111 preparing for take off to Lihue- I took this flight last summer ! (Chris McGinnis)

In many cases like this, the pilots would quickly jettison the fuel at a high altitude. Once the fuel is offloaded, the plane could return and land. (Jettisoned fuel disperses into the atmosphere and does not come raining down to earth. See: Fuel Dumping)

I can only imagine the groans from passengers when the pilot had to inform them that they’d be flying around for four hours, landing back in rainy SFO instead of sunny Kauai. In Kauai, there were undoubtedly people to meet, cars to rent, meetings to attend and hotel rooms reserved. These folks were ready to get their toes in the sand, no doubt!

View of Hanalei Bay from a room at the St Regis Princeville in Kauai (Chris McGinnis)

I contacted United to find out how this all played out, and it sounds like the airline did a good job recovering from this mishap. A spokesperson told TravelSkills that when the plane landed back at SFO, United offered passengers drink and meal vouchers. Another plane was called into service to re-accommodate passengers, and took off at 4:30 pm and arrived in Lihue 6 hours later at about 9 p.m.

UPDATE: A lot of readers are wondering why United didn’t just fly the plane to Hawaii if they were going to circle for a few hours. The reason is that United did not want to fly a faulty aircraft thousands of miles out over the ocean. Instead, pilots circled within a few hundred miles of SFO so they could land if they had to. Here’s an image of how far the flight is to Hawaii… and how close the plane stayed to SFO.

Mid point to Hawaii is 1,250 miles from the nearest airport– no place to be flying a faulty plane! (Image: FlightAware)

Phew! Has this ever happened to you? What’s the worst or most painful delay or cancellation you’ve had to deal with? Please leave your comments below.

A week of steady rain has caused a steady stream of delays at SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Flight delays at San Francisco International Airport regularly exceed two hours when it’s rainy, windy or foggy, while airports in San Jose and Oakland report few if any delays. On Thursday (Feb 9) the FAA is reporting delays averaging a painful three hours at SFO. According to FlightStats.com operations are normal at nearby Oakland and San Jose.

Why does SFO seem to suffer so many more weather-related delays than other airports in the Bay Area?

Of course, the answer is endlessly complicated, but for the most part, the main reason is capacity. SFO’s runways are too close together to allow simultaneous operations during wet weather. Due to environmental concerns, there are no current plans to further separate the runways, which would require expansion into the Bay.

The West Plan at SFO allows up to 60 aircraft arrivals per hour (Illustration provided by SFO. Yes, we know about the “SJO” mistake designers made on this image.)

SFO runways are designed to handle up to 60 aircraft arrivals per hour in dry weather. That’s because the airport operates two sets of parallel runways– one set for takeoffs, the other for landings. These parallel runways intersect at their midpoint forming a giant “X.” (See figure) During dry weather, two streams of planes can land and take off from these parallel runways.

The problem is that planes are only allowed to take off and land simultaneously on these parallel runways during clear, dry weather.

When storms blow in, air traffic control changes up the formation in which planes land, from the dry weather “West Plan”(with aircraft arriving on runways 28L or 28R and departing on runways 01L or 01R– see above) to the stormy weather “Southeast” plan (when aircraft arrive on 19L & 19R and depart on 10L & 10R– see below).

When air traffic controllers switch to the Southeast plan, simultaneous operations on parallel runways is forbidden, which cuts the airport’s arrivals capacity in half– from 60 down to 30 or 38 per hour, depending on the severity of conditions. All planes must land in single file, which causes delays when there are 60 planes scheduled to land, but air traffic control only allows 35. And when planes arrive late, it’s likely that they will also depart late.

During rainy weather, SFO switches to the Southeast plan, which slows down operations (Illustration provided by SFO. Yes, we know about the “SJO” mistake designers on this image )

If you live in San Francisco, you can tell when planes switch to the Southeast Plan because some arriving aircraft whistle and moan as they descend through the clouds over the city as they approach SFO.

What can you do to avoid this? Fly early during storm season. Before 9 a.m., arrival volume at SFO is below 30 per hour. But after 9 a.m., just over 30 aircraft are scheduled to land. The arrivals rate peaks between 12 noon and 2 pm when 40+ aircraft per hour are scheduled to land at SFO. The situation usually does not improve until later in the afternoon when arrival volume falls below 30 per hour.

The main reason that airports in Oakland and San Jose don’t face such on-time performance issues– even when it’s raining— is because their volume is low. They rarely exceed their capacity for arrivals in good or bad weather. (For example, neither airport is included in the BTS’s top 29 airports cited above.)

Last week reported on just how big that difference in volume really is: Last year, SFO handled a record 53 million passengers while Oakland had about 12 million and San Jose reported about 11 million.

In 2014, SFO announced thatnew landing procedures could help reduce delays– but those new procedures only apply during periods of low ceilings (fog) but not rain.

Have you or would you consider switching your flying to Oakland or San Jose due to delays at SFO? Why or why not? Please leave your comments below.

A few weeks ago we saw Bay Area to London roundtrip fares plummet to under $500 – an astounding deal. Now, with competition heating up, those cheap fares are back… and available from ALL three airports: SFO, San Jose and Oakland! And on all airlines serving the route: British Airways, Norwegian, Virgin Atlantic and United.

In these heady days, we now have up to NINE roundtrips every day between the Bay Area and London (Gatwick and Heathrow).

One at San Jose SJC (British Airways)

Two at Oakland OAK (British Airways and Norwegian)

Six at San Francisco SFO (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, United)

With competition like that, I bet we’ll see cheap fares for at least the rest of this year.

This sample is for May 1 – May 8 (Google Flights)

What is great about these deals is that they are currently available all the way through mid-May— which means you can fly to London for Spring Break if you fancy that! ‘Tis lovely in the spring!

After May, fares creep up into the $600 round trip range, but even that is a great deal when you consider it’s available during peak summer travel season June-August) when fares normally rise to near $1,800 round trip.

Today United and Virgin Atlantic have a great deal on round trip, nonstop flights to London from many major US gateways- just $481 round trip for winter and spring trips!

This is an especially good deal– any time we see nonstops west coast to Europe for less than $500, we jump!

What’s best about this sale is the wide window during which you can get the deal- according to Google Flights, the deal is good for flights from now all the way through mid May 2017. This includes the popular and busy spring break timeframe.

Google flights showing SFO-London for just $481 for winter and spring trips

From SFO, you can now fly on Virgin Atlantic’s two new B787 Dreamliners plying the route across the pond. United flies 777s on the SFO-LHR Heathrow route.

WOW Air’s one-stop flights from SFO to London are as low as $440 (with big fees). From Oakland, Norwegian Air offers fares from Oakland to London as low as $385 roundtrip (with restrictions) so this is clearly a competitive move on the part of the majors. From San Jose, there are competitive fares ($495) on to London on Air Canada and United, but require a stop enroute.

NOTE: Currently British Airways does not seem to be participating in this great deal.

Find these deals on Google Flights. NOTE: If flights are not found on Google flights, try United.com or VirginAtlantic.com, both of which are still showing these fares as of 6 pm Wednesday.

Late last year we received the following email from TravelSkills reader Jason Vaudrey with a query about submitting a reader report about his upcoming Singapore Airlines Premium Economy flight. He wrote:

My name is Jason Vaudrey and I really enjoy reading TravelSkills each week. I just finished reading about Singapore Airlines’ inaugural flight with their A350 and it made me more excited for my trip to Myanmar and return from Bangkok in December when I’ll fly on the A350. I am fascinated by air travel, commercial aircraft, the hustle and bustle of airports and have been this way since I was a child. I am somewhat envious of your ability to be able to make a career for yourself doing what you love. When I was younger, I flew quite often and used to save my ticket jackets and would often use the Official Airline Guide to plan out my father’s travels that would often take him up to the North Slope of Alaska. Today, I am fortunate to have a career that allows me to travel internationally once or twice a year…I’m more than happy to provide a review of Singapore Airlines’ Premium Economy experience in December aboard their A350. I am very excited for the 17-hour flight.

I love taking a big international trip at least once a year, preferably to a country I have never visited. I usually like to include scuba diving, whitewater rafting or something adventurous as part of my destination. I always believe in my vacation beginning at SFO and look forward to the long haul flight that awaits. I will pay upwards of $400 more for an airline with a better reputation as opposed to defaulting to the least expensive ticket to a destination.

To allow myself the freedom to travel, I work as a substitute teacher with San Francisco Unified School District and also do HIV and reproductive health research on short term projects or as an independent contractor. This holiday and during my winter break from school, I chose to go to Yangon (Burma) and to see Bagan and scuba dive the Burma Mergui Archipelago, which involved me starting that portion of my trip in Thailand.

I flew nearly two months after the inauguration of Singapore Airlines’ nonstop SFO to Singapore Changi flight. Our flight flight time was approximately 16 hours and 30 minutes. I sat in seat 33H, the third and last row in Premium Economy on the two seat side. There were approximately 30 seats empty on board the plane, according to the chief steward.

Singapore Airlines A350 Premium Economy has 24 seats in three rows between business class and economy class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There are 24 seats in Premium Economy in a 2-4-2 layout and I definitely recommend the last row because your seat is not pulled on when the person behind you often uses the head rest as support to get up from their seat not realizing how jarring it is for the person seated.

The seven cabin crew who attended to both the Premium Economy and Economy sections did an amazing job to make sure everyone was seated and comfortable and we had an on time departure and upon boarding handed us a hot towel, a menu and confirmed with those passengers who requested a special meal. The menu for premium economy covers all four meal services for both Flight 31 and Flight 32.

The check-in procedure at SFO has a special lane for Premium Economy, although when I arrived about 2.5 hours ahead of my flight, there were no passengers at the check-in counter and the ticketing agent had indicated that most everyone had checked-in already. On my return trip which originated in Bangkok, I still was able to use the Premium Economy lane and also for boarding the flight which had no Premium Economy section. Although in Bangkok, the ground staff operating the flight from Bangkok to Singapore allowed for Premium Economy passengers to board with their frequent flier mileage tier groups after Business Class boarded.

Premium economy dinner on Singapore Airlines (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

Both flights are designed the same in terms of service and meals offered. You are served a hot breakfast with three options that are the same three options being offered in economy. I chose the braised egg noodles with pork and it was delicious. The other two options were Western breakfast style options. For the second meal service from SFO-SIN, I ordered Korean BBQ ribs from the “Book the Cook” option that is given to premium economy passengers. All special meal order services are delivered first before the cart is pushed down the aisle serving the other passengers. Only drawback for ordering any special meal service is the delay in getting a beverage to go with it. So just request a beverage when your meal is delivered, but sometimes they will ask you to wait until the cart comes down the aisle.

The seat in premium economy is great. The problem with the exterior aisles, is the box that controls the seat back monitors obstructs and prevents you from being able to store a backpack and anything greater than a slim bag or purse. With my short legs, this did not pose a problem, but if you are tall, it might be an obstruction that is not welcome. The recline is nice along with the greater elbow room, because an arm rest is not shared with your seatmate. And there is also seat pitch of 38” and wider seats than in economy.

The only drawback is the engineering design of the calf rest. My seat mate on the return from Singapore to San Francisco brought this to my attention when he said that the calf rest doesn’t raise enough for you to at the same time rest your feet on the foot bar. And, even the passenger across the aisle from me pointed it out to a flight attendant after we took off and she tried to yank on the calf rest to get it to raise more, and I leaned over and told them, I think it’s a design flaw. My seat mate, cleverly, took his pillow and placed it under his legs, raising them, to allow his feet to reach the bar. I ended up not using the calf rest and prefer just resting my feet on the bar.

Map of flight from SIN to SFO as seen on seatback entertainment system (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

The return flight was fantastic and shorter. The second meal service was still approximately five hours after the first meal service. A change I noticed with this flight is the lead flight attendant approached all 24 passengers (premium economy was full) and asked them what they wanted for the three main course choices offered.

The flight attendants delivered premium economy meals without serving directly from the cart. The cart still was brought up the aisle to offer beverages, but I thought her asking those who did not already have a special meal request, was just another perk to sitting up in premium economy that I did not see, but also did not mind, when flying to Singapore from SF.

Here’s how they are celebrating the new nonstops between SFO and Singapore at Changi Airport (Photo: Jason Vaudrey)

I bought my ticket in July 2016 and the price was approximately $1750, about $100 more than economy at the time. I found even the business class, priced at $3,200 roundtrip in July to be very reasonable, considering the distance. And, this would have also included my flight to Yangon from Singapore and my return from Bangkok to Singapore. By the end of August, the price for economy still hovered around $1650, but premium economy was priced at $2,400. I find it definitely to be worth it, because it is quite the long flight and the seat itself is worth the increase in price between economy and premium economy.

[Roundtrip, premium economy fares between SFO and Yangon on SIA are currently about $2,900 according to Google Flights]

My trip to Myanmar consisted of flying to Bagan to see the pagodas and take a hot air balloon at sunrise on Christmas Eve morning. From there, I took AirKBZ to Yangon, spent the night at a nice budget hotel by the airport, called the High Five Hotel. In the morning I flew to Ranong, Thailand, via Bangkok on AirAsia to Bangkok. From Bangkok to Ranong, Thailand, I flew on NokAir (nok in Thai means bird). Ranong, Thailand lies on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. From there, I boarded a 7-day liveaboard scuba dive boat with 17 other individuals and crossed back into Myanmar waters to scuba dive for 7 days in the Myanmar (Burma) Mergui Archipelago. I was the only American on board, but had a great adventure and befriended many on board.

-Jason Vaudrey

Nice work, Jason! Thanks!

Jason scuba diving in off the coast of Myanmar

Are you interested in submitting a reader report to TravelSkills? Here are our guidelines. We’d love to hear from you!

If you have cross-country flying in your future, now’s the time to book your winter flights. Today nearly all airlines are heavily discounting transcon flights between New York and California, California and Florida, California and Atlanta, Seattle and New York or Boston.

What’s nice is that these these fares apply to nearly all flights from January through March– and all major carriers are participating. And what’s unusual is the time frame of this sale– these fares are good all the way into March, which means they’ll apply during the busy and expensive Spring Break period, too.

Anytime we see fares below $300 for transcontinental flights, we know that we have a very good deal on our hands. Now’s the time to book if you have business on either of the coasts, or would like to visit Florida for some mid-winter sun!

United Airlines has revealed the initial schedule for introduction of the 777-300ERs equipped with its new Polaris business class cabin, and San Francisco figures prominently in the rollout.

The first scheduled service of a Polaris-equipped 777-300ER will be on a domestic route, linking United’s San Francisco and Newark Liberty International hubs. The new aircraft will fly six days a week from February 16 through May 4, the airline said.

On March 25, the new aircraft will make its international scheduled service debut, replacing a 747-400 on the very competitive San Francisco-Hong Kong route, where Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific both offer non-stop service.

The Boeing 777-300ER will have 60 business class seats— that’s up from around 50 in its 747s and 777-200s. Both Economy Plus and regular economy seating will be 10-across, configured 3-4-3. Economy Plus will offer 34 inches of pitch vs. 31 inches for regular economy. Currently, United’s 777s are 9 across in economy class.

But United Polaris flyers in SFO won’t get the full experience when the new 777-300ER lands there– a spokesperson tells TravelSkills that phase 1 of the Polaris lounge will be complete by midyear, with the lounge renovation complete by the end of 2017. More details on the SFO lounge scene here.

The new Polaris business class provides seating in a “suite-like pod,” United said, with direct aisle access for all passengers. Seats recline 180 degrees, and are 6 feet 6 inches long and 23 inches wide, with one-touch lumbar support, A/C power, two USB ports, a 16-inch high-def video screen, privacy dividers for the middle seats, mood lighting, and an electronic “do not disturb” sign. The front cabin also has a marble-topped bar where passengers can get drinks and snacks.

United said it expects to put all 14 of its new 777-300ERs into service during 2017. The aircraft will be configured with 60 Polaris business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout; 102 Economy Plus seats; and 204 regular economy seats.

No word yet on what the other Polaris outfitted routes will be.

Satellite Wi-Fi will be available for purchase, and the economy cabin will offer on-demand entertainment via seatback screens or streaming to personal electronic devices.

>The new United Polaris lounge at SFO will be located in the space now occupied by the existing United Club in Boarding Area G (near security) and will be one of the largest United Polaris lounges. UPDATE: The new lounge is expected to open in late 2017 or early 2018 according to a United spokesperson.

>The new Polaris lounge will have two levels. It will encompass the existing United Club space (upstairs) plus the footprint of the adjacent existing Singapore Air and Eva Airlines lounges (downstairs). The new United Polaris lounge will welcome these airlines’ passengers under the same entrance requirements for United passengers. (This represents a long-awaited upgrade to Singapore Air’s dated lounge at SFO.)

>Only customers traveling in United Polaris business class or United Polaris Global First on long-haul international flights, as well as customers traveling in international first or business class cabins on Star Alliance partner airlines will have access to the United Polaris lounge. This includes super elite Global Services members who are not flying business or first class- we asked United for clarification on this and they restated the strict policy: Customers ticketed for United Polaris business class or United Polaris first class, as well as customers traveling in international first or business class cabins on Star Alliance™ partner airlines will have access to the United Polaris lounges.

The new Polaris Lounge will be located near gate 92A- upper right of this image. New United Clubs will be on both sides of corridor near gates 93 and 94. CLICK for larger map (Image: SFO)

United Clubs

So, what about United Club members who are not traveling in business or first class? Where will they lounge in Boarding Area G? United’s got you covered with TWO new United Clubs located near gates 93 and 94.

The first new United Club will open by Gate 93 in mid-2017. Although unconfirmed by United, I’m assuming the new space currently houses the rarely used #Converge@FlySFO meeting room- a relatively small room. But fear not small spaces! United will renovate the current Global First lounge (across the corridor by gate 94), convert it into a United Club by early 2018. After that, United will continue to operate both Clubs, according to a spokesperson.

The current Converge@SFO space likely to be converted into United Club (Image: SFO)

What else does United have planned for the SFO lounge scene?

>While no hard date was provided, United says that the old-school United Club in Boarding Area F will be renovated as part of a larger renovation program for the terminal.

>United is looking at options for additional space for its newest United Club in Boarding Area E– which is a nice new addition (opened 2015), but is small and frequently overflowing.

>United will continue to offer its arrivals lounge on the lower level on Concourse G.

Thoughts? Questions? Please leave ’em in the comments and we’ll try to elicit answers from United.

Afternoon tea at the Palm Court in London’s elegant Langham Hotel is a sight to behold! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Today British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have a great deal on round trip, nonstop flights to London from many major US gateways- just $504 round trip!

This is an especially good deal for flights from western cities such as SFO, LAX, Seattle, and Denver– but it’s also in Atlanta and other eastern cities.

What’s best about this sale is the wide window during which you can get the deal- according to Google Flights, the deal is good for flights from January all the way through May 2017. This includes the popular and busy spring break timeframe.

Google flights showing LAX-London for just $504 rt in March

From SFO, you can now fly on Virgin Atlantic’s two new B787 Dreamliners plying the route across the pond. British Airways flies an A380 and a B777 on the SFO-London Heathrow route. From Oakland, Norwegian Air has a handful of flights to London Gatwick airport selling for $468 round trip.

UPDATE: This fare sale seems to be spreading and is now available to/from many more US and European cities. So dig in and take a look around!

Singapore Air and Cathay offering some great deals for travel next year (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Two big Asian airlines launched a good fare sale this week. These deals are good from several US gateways to cities all over Asia. So if you’ve been sitting on the fence about going, now would be a good time to bite.

How do we know this is a good sale? Well, any time you see transpacific fares in the $600-$700 range, you know you’ve got a good deal on your hands. We’ve seen fares as low as $500 roundtrip on other Asian carriers, but it’s rare to see them go this low on two of Asia’s premier airlines. Plus, the window for travel is very wide for this sale.

Let’s take a look at the Cathay Pacific sale first.

Sale fares are best for economy and premium economy

The Black Friday Sale runs from now through November 30th with fares running at about 30% off in economy and 35% – 40% off in business. What’s best about this sale is its breadth. It’s good from all US gateways to 55 Asian cities. And the window for travel is super long, running from December 25 through May 23, 2017, and then again from August 15 through November 26.

Economy ares from SFO and LAX are just $651. What’s remarkable here is that fares from Chicago and New York are only about $30 more, starting at $685. From Boston, the lowest sale fares are $725.

Premium economy, which is a really nice seat and exclusive section on Cathay is going for about $1300-$1400.

Lowest economy fares start as low as $675 to cities throughout Asia on Singapore.

Singapore Airlines’ sale fares are slightly higher coming in starting at $675 from including Los Angeles and San Francisco and $699 from New York and Houston. Restrictions are a bit more cumbersome here, too.

Singapore’s new Premium Economy fares to Singapore are $1,325 departing San Francisco and Los Angeles, and from $1,399 from JFK for travel to Singapore and select Southeast Asian destinations.

Regrettably this sale does not include Singapore’s new nonstops between SFO and Singapore (flights SQ31 and SQ32). To get the sale fares, SFO flyers must transit Hong Kong first.

Flights must be booked between November 14-28, 2016 for travel January 10-September 30, 2017. Fares are applicable for midweek travel Sunday through Thursday, and a $100 surcharge for weekend travel (Friday/Saturday) in Economy and Premium Economy Class. Blackout period for Economy Class is June 16-July 9, 2017 with a $100 surcharge for travel from July 10, 2016-August 14, 2017.

Is this the look of things to come for the combined Alaska Airlines and Virgin America?

The Instagram photo of a shiny red, purple gradient and blue Boeing 737-900 with the words “More to Love” along the fuselage has circulated among aviation geeks over the last few days. The image, which appears to be in an aircraft hangar, also clearly shows the Alaska Airlines Eskimo face on a navy blue tail.

The Puget Sound Business Journal came across the photo and surmised: “The photograph appears to be an aircraft painted to promote the airline combination to travelers and employees of the airlines, rather than be a new livery for all Alaska and Virgin airplanes.”

We’ve reached out to Alaska Airlines for a comment about the image, but have not heard back.

New aircraft liveries always draw plenty of commentary, most of it negative. But I’ll take a stand on this one: I like it and would not mind seeing it as the permanent new livery of the combined carrier. What about you? Please leave your comments below.

In the meantime, the whole Alaska Airlines-Virgin America deal still seems to be stuck in limbo at the Justice Department. The latest rumors about the deal emerged yesterday on The Street, with an insider stating that the combined carrier would have to give up gates at SFO and LAX and terminate code sharing agreements with Delta and American to close the deal.

What do flight attendants love most about SFO? A fun new promotional video from San Francisco International Airport, introduced by Tony Bennett, offers personal accounts from flight attendants representing a number of airlines about the interesting things to see and do at the airport. See video What do you love most about SFO? Leave your comments below.

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

This week Alaska Airlines revealed a new paint job, or livery, on a new 737-900ER. At first glance, that American flag wingtip may look like a move to integrate Virgin America design elements (see its flagged winglet here) into the look of Alaska Airlines, but it’s part of a new initiative called “Alaska Airlines Salutes,” to support and honor those who serve. The design features an Alaska Airlines Salutes medallion and a fallen soldier badge, with the Battlefield Cross to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The plane also features five rings surrounding the engine, representative of the five branches of the United States military, and American flag winglets.

Photo of the inflight map of the northerly course of our SIN-SFO flight on Singapore Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

(INFLIGHT SIN>SFO) Well, that was a quick trip! If you’ve been following TravelSkills this week, you know that I jumped on Singapore Airlines’ new nonstop A350 flight from San Francisco to Singapore on Sunday. (Read part 1: Southbound SFO>SIN post)

Here it is on Thursday morning, and I’m northbound,somewhere out over the big dark Pacific Ocean, on the return flight (SQ 32). Our flight started out over the South China Sea, then passed between the Philippines and Taiwan, continuing up along the east coast of Japan. Then it was out over the Northern Pacific, where we skirted past the Aleutian Trench on course to arriving at SFO.

I love a good exotic flight board and the one a Singapore Changi does not disappoint! (Chris McGinnis)

We departed Singapore at 9:25 am on Thursday, and we’ll arrive in San Francisco at 8:40 am on the same day– after flying for about 14 hours. Crazy to think that we’ll arrive before we left. Tailwinds have been kind to our flight, cutting about two hours off our flight time. The southbound journey on Sunday-Monday took 16 hours and 11 minutes, departing noon Sunday, and arriving at around 7 pm on Monday evening.

On this return flight, I was able to watch one movie– Captain Fantastic– highly recommended, a tear jerker but I’m always easily brought to tears on planes for some reason. You? I was also able to get some work done on the laptop, sleep for about four hours, enjoy two gorgeously presented meals (see below) and write this post.

Inflight wi-fi from Panasonic has been extremely fast and reliable on this flight (less so on the way down)– I’m amazed that I can upload photos and post this from the plane. Crazy! I purchased a 24-hour in-flight wi-fi pass for $22— very much worth it to me.

Hainanese pork chop with fried rice (Photo Chris McGinnis)

As usual, for meals, I tried to go native and order Asian/Singaporean dishes. For dinner, I chose the Hainanese pork chop with fried rice. It was good, but a little tough. Breakfast was far better- I opted for the oriental dim sum and loved every bite.

Four choices for breakfast in Singapore Airlines business class- I went native! (Chris McGinnis)

This has been a quick trip– just two quick days in Singapore and three very bumpy nights of not-enough-sleep. I’m surprised I have the will and wherewithal to write this! Hope you’ve enjoyed my reports.

I’ll close with one more unusual photo from this trip: A word of warning about some monkey business going on outside my window at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort on Singapore’s southern coastline.

Fares for November SFO-SIN roundtrips are currently about $800 round trip in economy, $1,800 in premium economy and $4,200 in business class. There are no first class seats on the A350. There are 42 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats, and 187 standard economy seats on this bird. United also flies nonstop between SFO and Singapore using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

At the gate, SIA and SFO teamed up to celebrate the first SQ 31 flight with a gate event that included a noisy, good luck, send-off dragon dance with drums, plus food, drink and swag (luggage tags, model planes) for all passengers. It’s always super special and exciting to take an inaugural flight– every passenger boarded with a big smile.

Looking out of SFO gate 93 at the brand new A350, I was looking for its most distinguishing features so I could always remember how to spot it on runways. From now on, I’ll always notice the A350 by its unique curly wingtips (see ’em?) and the blacked out, round-edged cockpit windows. Currently, it’s the only A350 flying into SFO.

Always helpful Singapore girls pose for a photo during early boarding (Photo: Robert Silk)

Thankfully Singapore Air arranged for me to get on the plane a few minutes early to take photos of each cabin before take off. When I got onboard, the Singapore girls were busy scurrying around getting the plane ready, but took the time for a quick photo.

Economy class seats are configured 3-3-3. To me, the best economy seats are in the bulkhead at rows 47 and 48 on either side. The two seats on either side (not center) of row 47 don’t have seats in front of them (only a door), and the window seats in row 48 have open space in front of them, too. These seats are near lavatories, which might be bothersome if trying to sleep (but who really is able to sleep in economy class anyway? Not me!).

Singapore Airlines A350 Premium Economy is a good option for those who can’t bear the thought of 17 hours in economy (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Same goes for Premium economy seats– bulkhead is probably best. However, on our flight, an unlucky set of parents were seated in the bulkhead (typically where airlines place parents flying with babies) and their baby cried for nearly the entire flight. So you take your chances when choosing the bulkhead.

There are two sections in the 42-seat business class, separated by a galley. I was in seat 19F, on the bulkhead behind the galley. These bulkhead seats have nice “wraparound” ottomans that other seats don’t, so when the seat back folds down into a flat bed for sleeping, you have plenty of space to move around. The non-bulkhead seats are a bit cozier and feet must fit into a narrow space for sleeping. Not uncomfortable, but not as spacious as those bulkhead playpens. Note that the bulkheads in the center are larger than the bulkheads by the window, so given a choice, take the center. Downside to the bulkhead is proximity to the galley, which can be noisy and bright if you are trying to sleep.

Business class passengers get voucher for 30 MB free internet

When checking in at SFO, gate agents provided business class passengers with a voucher good for 30 MB of inflight Internet. That 30 MB ran out in about half an hour of browsing and email, so I bought a 24 hour pass for $22. The connection was fine for light browsing and email, but I was unable to upload photos to share on my Facebook or Twitter feeds as I’ve been able to do on other transoceanic flights.

Amazing: Singapore Airlines’ inflight menu is 14 pages long! The airline is experimenting with a new flexible dining option on the SFO-SIN flights, so you have about 10 choices for appetizers and main courses (one of which, oddly, is a barbecue pulled pork sandwich). There are two meal services on this flight, but you can also choose to eat whenever you want. I chose to enjoy the full dinner service, which began an hour or so into the flight and took about two hours to finish– no problem on a 17-hour flight, right? An elaborate meal helps pass the time!

There are all kinds of cool new things about the A350, but the one that really knocked my socks off? The automated trash bin the the lavatory! Watch the video above to see how its motion sensors open and close the the flap so you don’t have to touch it. What a great idea since I’m always a little grossed out when I have to push my used towels into the bin.

Stunning 6 pieces of silverware with dinner service on Singapore Airlines plus a delicious starter of prawns and pickled cauliflower drizzled with a lovely lemony dressing (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Another amazing aspect of Singapore Airlines service… the six pieces of silverware you get to use for dinner!

Six wines from which to choose on Singapore Airlines SFO-SIN (Chris McGinnis)

Some excellent wine choices, including Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve champagne pre-flight as well as a 2012 Chateau Belle-Vue Cru bordeaux.

Lamb Biryani main course on on SFO-SIN in business class on Singapore Airlines (Chris McGinnis)

When I fly international carriers, I always try to go native and ask for whatever is the most local and exotic, so I was surprised to see so few Asian entrees on the new business class menu. When I asked my flight attendant about this, she recommended the lamb biryani– an Indian dish, but since Singaporean cuisine is such a melange of different Asian flavors, she said that this was my best bet if I wanted to go native. She was right! It was delicious and spicy. I want it again as I type this 24 hours later!

The passenger across the aisle ordered “grilled US choice beef filet” and I was able to catch the flight attendant for a photo of this perfectly prepared and garnished dish before she served it.

Since this was a brand new plane for flight attendants, there were some timing issues and hiccups in the meal service– having flown Singapore Airlines several times before, I noticed the imperfections. However, on a new plane, just like at new hotels, I’m very forgiving, and once crews learn how to work on the new A350, service bumps will surely even out.

Snuggling in for sleep in business class with my Bucky eyemask and Mack’s earplugs (Photo: Robert Silk)

My RX for sleeping well on planes includes a Bucky eye mask, Mack’s silicone earplugs, and Nite-Time melatonin tabs. On this flight, I tucked in and slept well for about five and a half hours– until those poor parents with the screaming baby began pacing through the business class cabin and allowing the kid to wail in the nearby galley. Oy.

Singapore Air does not provide amenity kits on this flight. Slippers and eye masks are in seat side bins. Toothbrushes, razors, combs, mouthwash and lotion are available in lavatories. Unlike my recent trip to Sydney on Qantas (a 14 hour flight), Singapore does not provide pajamas for business class passengers, so I suggest you pack a t-shirt to sleep in and ask flight attendants to hang your shirt so it’s fresh when you get off the plane.

One key reason I was able to sleep well on this flight: Flight attendants kept the cabin blissfully cool. I’ve had other wonderful business class experiences that were marred by overheated cabins. Yuck!

A soothing cup of green tea does the trick (Photo: Chris McGinnis

Once I woke up, flight attendants came by and asked to help convert my seat from bed back to upright seat. Singapore’s business class seats are unique in that the seatback folds forward to make a nice wide bed– on other airlines, the seat usually reclines fully into a flat bed. After I was situated and upright, I asked for a nice warm cup of green tea, a perfect way to wake up as we flew over the Philippines.

Egg noodles with chicken and mushrooms for breakfast (sort of ) (Chris McGinnis)

I slept through the second meal service, but I had pre-ordered a big bowl of noodles as my breakfast… or lunch? Not sure due to the time change. In any case, it was a nice way to wake up and greet the afternoon in Asia, even if the soup arrived lukewarm.

Singapore Air’s inflight entertainment system is arguably the best in the world— there are hundreds of movies, TV shows and games to choose from. But my favorite by far is the inflight map! This one offers all sort of viewing options that I could sit and watch for hours. The video above shows what we saw as we approached Singapore. Talk about exotic! Wow.

Our flight path took us out over the Pacific to the north of Hawaii, over the top of the Philippines and into the South China Sea, then straight into Singapore.

One of many stunning gardens that greet arriving passengers at Singapore Changi Airport (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Singapore Changi airport is considered one of the very best in the world for a variety of reasons, including the gorgeous garden displays throughout the terminal. A perfect example is this beautiful bird set up to welcome passengers as we entered the customs and immigration halls– through which we passed in about 30 seconds.

Overall, I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about getting on a plane for 17 hours— even when I knew I would be sitting in a big business class seat on Singapore Airlines. I thought I’d reach a point where I’d be screaming to myself “get me outta this plane!” But it never happened. This flight, which ended up being 16 hours and 11 minutes due to calm headwinds, was no different than a 12 hour flight to Europe, or a 14 hour flight to Australia.

New Delta Sky Club at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Photo: Scott Hintz)

Last week, Delta opened a new Sky Club lounge at its growing Seattle hub. And what a club it is. We had a chance to preview it before it opened last Friday and we were impressed.

This new club is located in the main terminal between Concourses A and B, near gate A1. It’s the second Sky Club at SEA, complementing the existing lounge in the South Satellite terminal near gates S9 and S10. But this new lounge is far larger, newer and nicer — and definitely worth going out of your way to visit if you have enough time, even if you are flying out of the satellite terminal.

New Skyclub location between Concourses A and B at Sea-Tac airport

Entrance to new Skyclub near gate A1 at SEA

The new Seattle Sky Club is one of the largest in the Delta network at over 21,000 square feet and with enough space to seat over 400 visitors. (Compare that to the new Atlanta Sky Club with 25,000 square feet and room for 500.) The design is modern and sleek, quite similar to the design of the also-new Delta lounge at SFO. It felt more like something you’d experience at a BA lounge at Heathrow or maybe a Cathay lounge in Hong Kong in terms of it being large, light and airy, and packed with a lot of amenities. Kudos to Delta for really upping its game here.

Speaking of amenities, here are the highlights: Comfortable seating and power ports galore. You have a choice of long, partitioned benches; individual club chairs; sleek modern curved benches that feel like they belong in the mod, vintage TWA terminal at JFK; dining table/chairs; connected seats with high walls for privacy; quad-seat cubes facing away from each other; desk workstations; private pods with work lighting and swivel table/desk; and many other varieties of club chairs. There is truly a comfortable seat for everyone in this lounge. And all seating had power outlets integrated or adjacent to the seat. Even the dining section had clever power-port “towers” so you can charge up while enjoying the food (more on that below).

Elegant and functional seating at the new SEA Sky Club (Photo: Scott Hintz)

Private workstations are one of the many seating options at the new SEA Sky Club (Photo: Scott Hintz)

Power ports are everywhere, including these “power towers” throughout the dining area (Photo: Scott Hintz)

A gorgeous two-story space with lots of natural light and great views of the tarmac and Mount Rainier off in the distance (or so we’re told — it was cloudy on the day we were there). Delta has incorporated local design elements throughout such as a glass wave design in room partitions, natural wood, and colors that evoke the Pacific Northwest. There’s also a beautiful mosaic-style mural of the famous Pike’s Place market sign made by the same artist who did the similar Golden Gate bridge mosaic in the SFO Skyclub. See our review of the SFO Sky Club! This will be a very comfortable place to kill time or get work done at SEA.

Pixelated mural of Pike Place Market by artist Craig Alan McMillan, the same artist who did the Golden Gate Bridge mural at the SFO Sky Club (Photo Scott Hintz)

Views from the expansive 30-foot windows in the Skyclub. Mount Rainier is supposedly visible on clear days (Photo: Scott Hintz)

Six private shower rooms with Malin+Goetz toiletries. There are three “standard” size rooms and three larger ones that we’re told can accommodate families if you are traveling with kids; but even the smaller rooms were large and impressive. The room has a private toilet, sink, and of course, shower area. The design is very high end and just feels luxurious. Well done, Delta.

Delta’s first foray into a spa integrated into a Sky Club. It’s run by Asanda and offers chair massages and relaxation treatments, all for a fee. I tried a 10-minute sample chair massage and it was great (normal pricing is 20 minutes for $50 or 45 minutes for $100). I also tried samples of two of the relaxation treatments where you lie in a zero-gravity chair, but honestly, didn’t care for either of them. The first is called Nap26 and you basically listen to white noise on headphones to relax, but I could still hear outside sound and the white noise just felt a little annoying to me. The other one I tried is the Deepak Chopra Dream Weaver, where you listen to a little bit of Deepak himself speaking in a calm voice to guide you to a relaxing “other” world, then you wear glasses with embedded LEDs that blink in various colors and formations to create hypnotic visual images (you keep your eyes closed and just pick up light and patterns). The blinking LEDs sort of freaked me out and made me stressed and anxious, the opposite of the intended goal. Maybe others will like it, but I would urge caution.

Chair massage and relaxation chairs at the SEA Sky Club spa (Scott Hintz)

Chair massage and relaxation chairs at the SEA Sky Club (Scott Hintz)

Enhanced food and drink It seemed that there was more food on offer here than I’ve seen at other Sky Clubs, not quite the full buffet you might see at a foreign carrier’s lounge, but getting close. Delta says it’s partnering with chef Ethan Stowell to provide food that has a local flair to it, in addition to a mac and cheese dish from Beecher’s Cheese, which is a Seattle institution (and we can attest to it being delicious). As far as beverages, it was the standard Sky Club setup of free and premium offerings, but here Delta will have Washington State wines, as well as spirits and beers from local makers. THE BAR at Delta Sky Club offers a variety of premium and complimentary options including Washington wines such as Chateau Ste. Michelle, cocktails from local distilleries including Glass Vodka, Westland Distilleries and more, Georgetown Lucille IPA craft beer, and freshly brewed Starbucks coffee.

Mac and cheese and other hot food options at the SEA Sky Club (Scott Hintz)

Salads, crudites, and other food options at the SEA Skyclub

All in all, this Sky Club is a fantastic new space that will be welcomed by frequent travelers. It also ups the game considerably in terms of lounge experiences offered by U.S. carriers — so American, United, and Alaska should pay attention, but even foreign carriers are put on notice. It definitely shows how much effort Delta is putting into growing its Seattle hub.

For west coast flyers, Seattle is an increasingly viable option for international journeys. Delta flies nonstop to five cities in Asia from SEA (Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo/NRT, Seoul, and Hong Kong) and three cities in Europe (London/LHR, Amsterdam, and Paris), with most of those airports offering tons of connections on Delta partners to get you almost anywhere you want to go. And Seattle is a somewhat efficient routing, as most west coast flights go up the coast over the Seattle area anyway to get to Asia or Europe.

Sky Club members and certain American Express cardholders have unlimited access the club. Non-members can pay a one-time fee of $59.

What’s Next for Sky Clubs? A renovated Club in Raleigh-Durham is scheduled to open in late November and will offer additional seats, more accessible power and a new food and beverage area. A new Club expansion is coming to Newark in late 2016, including a redesigned bar and more food options.

SFO’s new 221-foot air traffic control tower operational this week (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After more than a year of preparation, air traffic controllers will be working in San Francisco International Airport’s gorgeous new control tower this weekend.

Rising up in a graceful flare, the new tower is 221 feet tall. The 650 square-foot controller work area gives air traffic controllers unobstructed 235-degree views of SFO’s runways and taxiways. It replaces the current tower on top of Terminal 2, which will be dismantled quickly beginning in January because it obstructs runway views from the new one.

To celebrate, let’s revisit the behind-the-scenes tour TravelSkills took in 2015 when the airport turned the tower over to the FAA, whichspent the last year outfitting the voluptuous, flared cylinder with its systems, testing them and training controllers.

Part of the tower project was to create a bright new land side corridor (along the roadway) connecting Terminal 1 with Terminal 2. What’s amazing about the corridor is that it has a glass roof so you can stop and peer up at the new tower. Handrails are needed to keep folks from falling over as they crane their necks to view the beautiful new metallic cone. It’s gorgeous, almost hypnotic, and vertigo-inducing to look up at it as the clouds roll by.

The view looking up from the new glass-roofed corridor between T1 and T2- note the waterfall of lights panels facing west (Chris McGinnis)

A new computer controlled display now lights up the tower in a variety of colors, which can be seen from miles away after dusk. Like the Empire State Building or San Francisco City Hall, the new “waterfall of lights” is used for special occasions– orange when the Giants win, or red and green for Christmas, etc.

Inch-thick, blast-proof glass across the front of the building under the tower (Chris McGinnis)

The FAA has offices in a three-story building at the base of the tower, where the exterior and glass walls have been thickened and hardened to prevent damage from truck bombs on the nearby roadway.

The structure is built on “bay mud” according to project manager Tony Kingsman who said that the tower is supported in bedrock 140 below ground, and is designed to withstand an 8.0 earthquake and still be operational.

This is SFO’s fourth control tower. The current one was built in 1981 atop the current Terminal 2, deemed seismically unstable, so construction began on the new tower three years ago.

It cost about $120 million to build the tower, FAA office building and corridor. The FAA kicked in about 70 million of that– enough for a basic, utilitarian structure, but SFO wanted it to be an iconic, torch-like symbol of the gateway to the Pacific, so it contributed an additional $50 million for aesthetics, as well as additional airport space like the new corridor.

With the new tower open, the old tower will be dismantled quickly so as not to obstruct runway views from the new one. There is talk of the airport adding a outdoor viewing platform, open the the public, in the old tower’s footprint atop T2, but for now, that’s just talk.

Okay then. Let’s crawl up inside this spectacular structure! Watch this video and scroll through the images and video below.

(NOTE: This video was shot last year before the FAA moved its equipment into the tower.)

Aside from the stunning view, note that US Airways/American is now operating out of Delta’s Boarding Area C (Chris McGinnis)

First taking an elevator up about 10 floors and then walking up a spiral staircase, you enter a wonderland of planespotting— a full 270 degrees of unobstructed airport views through 24 giant panes of 1-1/2 inch-thick glass. On the western side of the 650-square-foot “cab” there are a few pillars that hold up the roof. I’ve never seen a view like this one.

Looking out from 221 feet over Terminal 2, home of Virgin America and American (Chris McGinnis)

The tower complex is covered in at least 100 lightning rods grounded by shiny woven metal cables. Look closely and you’ll see them (Chris McGinnis)

Looking out at the United hangar and (oddly) looking down on the current control tower, which will soon disappear (Chris McGinnis)

Installation of air traffic controller stations- there is room for 13 controllers up here, but usually only 6-8 on the job. (Chris McGinnis)

Looking out at one of two cranes used to clean and maintain the tower exterior (Chris McGinnis)

Looking over the parking lot and international terminal (Chris McGinnis)

Air traffic controllers’ break room is one level below the cab- talk about a room with a view! (Chris McGinnis)

Here’s the view from the air traffic controllers break room. Nice! (Chris McGinnis)

Your excited TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis pondering a lightning rod on the top of SFO control tower (Doug Yakel)

Take off for Sydney this winter for less than $1,000 round trip on Air New Zealand- Bondi Beach pictured (Chris McGinnis)

Air New Zealand is offering fantastic fares for travelers hoping to go to Australia in 2017. This is a great opportunity to explore the country as these fares are good for travel to seven different Australian destinations: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide, Perth, and Gold Coast.

Roundtrip travel from SFO or LAX to any of these 7 cities starts at just $995 but you have to book by October 24 to get the discounted fare. This deal is good for travel between January 26 and May 31 (mid summer to fall down under!) so there’s plenty of time to get ready for your adventure. The only catch: You must make a stop in Auckland, New Zealand to get there.

Anytime you see fares drop below $1,000 to Australia, you know you’ve got a good deal on your hands.

Google flights showing SFO-Perth for just $914 in March and April

When we checked fares on Google Flights, we were able to book sub $1,000 fares starting in February. The closer to May you get, the more likely you are to find the really low fares. We were even able to find fares as low as $914 round trip from LAX or SFO for flights (in March) as far away as Perth! (High on my bucket list!)

You can book online through www.airnewzealand.com. Looking for loyalty points? When you book this deal you can accrue points toward your Air New Zealand Airpoints or United Airlines MileagePlus account.

Summer in Australia doesn’t end until March so snag one of these deals if you’re looking for a sunny getaway during our cold and hopefully wet winter.

Take in a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a lot less! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fares from some US cities to Australia have dropped just in time to book a year end getaway. Nonstop flights from LAX – Sydney are down to $870 round trip for fall trips! These fares is available on Delta, United, and American so you can enjoy the discount and remain loyal to your alliance. Similar fares are available to Melbourne and Brisbane, too.

The cheapest one-stop round trip we found from SFO – SYD was on Delta: $828 with 1 stop at LAX. Round trip fares from ATL – SYD are also $828 on United with one stop at SFO. (Source: Google Flights)

(Image: Google Flights)

Any time we see fares to Australia dip below $1,000, we know we have a really good deal on our hands.

According to Google Flights, all of these cheap fares are available for travel dates starting now through mid-December. Book now to make sure you get these good deals and take a last-minute summer trip or a fall vacation. As temperatures start to cool down in the US, it will be nice to escape to Australian springtime.

UPDATE: Monday July 18 11:30 PDT: BREAKING: New official FAA Statement: “The FAA lifted all restrictions on flights to and from Turkey at 1:45 p.m. EDT, July 18, 2016.” Flights to US are expected to resume on Tuesday, July 19. Read updated post on TravelSkills here.

This alert from Turkish Airlines popped into our email box Saturday morning…at about the same time we started hearing that the FAA had banned flights from Turkey from flying into the US….

Turkish Airlines is the only carrier with nonstops between the U.S. and Turkey. Friday, Turkish Airlines Flight 80 departed SFO at 6:10 pm in the midst of the crisis, and has apparently landed safely according to FlightAware.

You can watch flight traffic over Istanbul here which shows flights from IST to other countries has resumed. This means that Americans should be able to get out of the country, then change planes at a European airport to get back to the U.S. For its part, Lufthansa/SWISS says that it will not alter schedules to Turkey, which provides a way for US citizens (and Star Alliance partners) a way to get in and out of the country.

Update: 11 am PDT: Regarding FAA ban on Turkish Air in US, company spokesperson tells TravelSkills: “We are waiting on final statement from TK headquarters.”

Update 7 am PDT SUNDAY:Although we have not yet received any subsequent official statements from Turkish Airlines, this is the latest from the US State Department: Expect further disruptions in commercial and public transportation, and check with your transportation provider (e.g., airline, train operator, etc.). Per the Federal Aviation Administration’s notice to airmen (NOTAM), U.S. airline carriers are prohibited from flying to or from Istanbul and Ankara airports. All airline carriers, regardless of country of registry, are prohibited from flying into the United States from Turkey either directly or via a third country. Further, although some airlines resumed service, travelers should be prepared for changes to flight schedules and paths. Please contact your airline for the latest flight information and to confirm your travel plans.

With the unflinching will of the people, Turkey has awakened to a new day with a much stronger sense of democracy and freedom.

Upon the call of our President H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan our operations at İstanbul Atatürk Airport are now back to normal and flights have begun.

As of the 16th of July by 14:30 (EEST) all our flight operations will resume as planned. Grateful to our Dear Nation, we extend our thanks to our passengers for their understanding for the inconvenience.

Due to this situation, for individual and group reservations, provided that:

We took a spin through the recently refurbished Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at SFO this week for a reveal of its new snack menu (from Whitechapel in SF) and a presentation by its talented mixologist Justin who’s been running the exquisite full service bar with his wife for 10 years. TIP: A Virgin spokesperson said that the club should have airside access by next fall (2017). Virgin Atlantic has two flights per day from SFO, the first one, which departs at 5:40 pm is still using the older Airbus A340; the 9:10 pm departure uses its new 787 Dreamliner. By October, both flights will be operated with a Dreamliner. Our advice: Book the 9:10 pm departure and arrive at the Clubhouse early for a few Manhattans or Old Fashioneds, then pour yourself onto the plane for a good night’s sleep! Don’t forget that the club is open to business class ticketholders and both Virgin and Delta Elites with same-day transatlantic nonstop flights to London.

Remember when a US Airways A320 took a dive into the Hudson River? Watch part of that drama unfold here on the official trailer of “Sully” (IMDB) starring Tom Hanks in theaters this September.

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

Hi there! It’s Dan, the lucky guy who won the TravelSkills contest for two free round trip United BusinessFirst tickets to Xi’an, China. I just returned from the trip! This was my first time to China and first time in BusinessFirst on the 787 so I have a lot to share.

I traveled a few days after United’s new business class, Polaris, was announced so it was fun comparing and contrasting what they have planned versus what the reality is now. Here’s a quick summary of my observations about the trip:

This was my first time on United’s 787-8 and it was great! The large shade-less windows, quieter cabin, and higher humidity really does make a noticeable difference in both the flight and post-flight jet lag experience. I felt more rested once I arrived and didn’t deal with significant jet lag on either end of the trip.

The flight crew on our outbound SFO – XIY was probably the best I’ve had in my adult life. They made our trip so much fun and those 13 hours just zipped by.

Towards the end of our flight to Xi’an, I was surprised to see that the BusinessFirst lavatories weren’t cleaned/serviced at all throughout the flight. That said, this is about the only critical comment I could make about the overall service.

Lounge access in Xi’an leaves much to be desired and I was completely underwhelmed.

On the return leg, I found the ground staff in Xi’an to be very pleasant but there was a definite language barrier. Although ultimately successful, getting baggage checked through to Chicago took about 20 minutes and six desk agents.

[Currently, United fares between SFO and Xi’an are as low as $586 roundtrip in economy, and $2,960 in business class. On the Dreamliner flight, there were 36 BusinessFirst seats, 70 in Economy Plus and 113 in economy. See SeatGuru for United’s 787-8 Dreamliner]

United’s New Service to Xi’an: “Good morning sir, where are you traveling today…”

Although I was unable to fly on the first flight to Xi’an, United let me join in on the inaugural festivities at SFO on May 8. There was palpable energy around the gate but I also couldn’t help but notice the dozens of both Chinese and western passengers who seemed unaware of what the hullabaloo was all about. Nonetheless, the food, music, and live Terracotta warriors were a nice touch.

I originally assumed United launched the route because of strong industry/business ties in Xi’an but learned it’s actually being tested for the leisure market. I found this interesting since most people I’ve encountered can’t place this city on a map. Here’s where it is!

On my departure day in early June, I arrived at SFO a bit early to check out the new United Club in Terminal 3, Concourse E, which I had yet to visit. Despite several international departures leaving around the same time as Xi’an, check-in was smooth and seamless. When handing over my passport, the agent asked, “Good morning sir, where are you traveling today?” I said, “Hi there, I am going to Xi’an” and she responded, “oh wooooow” — like generally surprised. Maybe this was her first day working the Xi’an flight but I found it kind of funny. It took about 10 minutes to check-in and get through security and I was on my way to the United Club.

International Premium Check-in at SFO (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Since I won two tickets, I invited my best friend to go with me. She was flying in from Chicago, so we met up near the domestic gates and and headed to the United Club there for a celebratory drink. The desk agent was pleasant but quickly informed us that we also had access to the club in the international terminal. I said, “don’t worry, we’ll be going there too.”

Cheers! (Photo: Dan Erwin)

The club was packed and almost every seat was taken. Nonetheless, I love the upgrades underway at various United Clubs (especially Heathrow’s) and appreciate the update at SFO.

The crowded United Club in Terminal 3 Concourse E at SFO (Photo: Dan Erwin)

After our prosecco we made our way to the international terminal and grabbed some snacks and another glass of bubbles at the United Club there while we waited for boarding to begin.

View from our visit to the United Club at SFO’s International Terminal G (Photo: Dan Erwin)

UA853 to Xi’an (Photo: Dan Erwin)

At 12:45 pm we headed down to gate 96 and arrived just as priority boarding was being called. Agents scanned boarding passes checked our visas and we walked right on to 1A and 1B (I was in HOG HEAVEN since this was my first international flight being in 1A, which is usually Global First).

Stepping aboard United’s 787 Dreamliner! (Photo: Dan Erwin)

My seat: 1A! (Photo: Dan Erwin)

I’ve flown BusinessFirst on the 747, 777, and the 757 p.s. configurations but this my first time on the 787. I found the seat to be basically the same as the P.S. configuration but the noticeable differences are in other cabin features. The windows are much larger than any other aircraft and have that awesome tinting feature. The overhead bin space is quite large as well. Overall, I loved the feel of the forward cabin because once you board it’s very mellow as no other passengers are coming through.

Peering out the 787’s huge tinted windows (Photo: Dan Erwin)

BusinessFirst cabin during boarding (Photo: Dan Erwin)

I can say without a doubt that on this flight we had the most energetic and pleasant group of flight attendants I’ve ever flown with. The service manager came by shortly after each passenger was settled and warmly welcomed each of us individually. He asked us why were were traveling to Xi’an and encouraged us to ask if he could make our trip more comfortable. The standard amenity kits were distributed shortly after that, which are nice to have on long flights but not anything to write home about.

United’s standard leather amenity (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Once we got settled, my new favorite flight attendant of all time, Momo, greeted us with champagne. She really made our flight. It felt like we were close friends and she was having us over for drinks and dinner at her house. She was super attentive but not overwhelmingly so. About 45 minutes after takeoff I realized that my earbuds were stuck in the seat. I kid you not, she literally got on the floor in her dress and stuck half of her body under the seat as she fiddled to get them out. The other FAs were friendly and personable as well. I learned from them that 787 crew are mostly former Continental FAs, which I thought was interesting. Many of my experiences in BusinessFirst with mainline United crew paled in comparison to this.

Overall, the service on the flight was efficient and pleasant! The main meal service was pretty standard and consistent with my other BusinessFirst experiences.

Main meal service appetizer prosciutto and melon with garnishes (Photo: Dan Erwin)

We landed in Xian right on time and taxied straight to the gate. We said our goodbyes to the lovely crew and proceeded through immigration to baggage claim and out to ground transportation, all of which took about 15 minutes. The airport felt pretty deserted.

We spent a total of four full days in Xi’an, which felt like enough time. (We also spent a few days in Beijing.) You can definitely tell that Xian is not as popular for westerners/Americans as other Chinese cities might be because we were probably asked by at least 100 different locals to pose in photos with them. You don’t see many Americans cruising around town (I think we saw four the entire time) so I guess we were exotic. English was not widely spoken in our experience, which yielded some interesting communication barriers but made the trip more fun!

It seems like most tourists come in for one or two days just to see the Terracotta Warriors and although that was definitely an amazing site to see, there is much more to Xi’an.

Some of Xian’s famous Terracotta Warriors- about one hour outside of downtown (Photo: Dan Erwin)

View of Xi’an from the city wall (Photo: Dan Erwin)

An acquaintance of ours owns the Xi’an Brewery, which along with Lost Plate Food Tours, was coincidentally featured in United’s Hemisphere magazine a few months ago in March. We checked out both and LOVED them.

The day of our departure we arrived at the airport nearly three hours early due to the post-traumatic stress I experienced the day before when we missed our flight from Beijing to Xi’an. I haven’t missed a flight in almost 10 years so the scar was REALLY fresh that day! ☺

Check-in at Xi’an Airport XIY (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Despite spending about 20 minutes getting my friend’s bagged checked through to Chicago, check-in was straightforward and only one person was in the premium line when we arrived.

Next stop, immigration… After standing in front of the immigration officer for a solid five minutes with nothing but silence, he asked me to turn to my right so he could “see my ear.” I thought I misunderstood him (again, the language barrier), and asked “pardon?” He responded with, “your ear. I need to see your left ear. Please turn to your right.” I complied and he stamped my documents waived me through. It was VERY odd but I didn’t ask questions and proceeded through security without any trouble.

My only real disappointment with the overall experience on our return is with the lounge in Xi’an. This is not a United lounge, but instead a SBC-VIP lounge that serves several different airlines. The airport is shiny and new but the lounge kind of feels like your grandma’s living room. There are oversized chairs and doilies everywhere. The food and beverage selection was poor and they were constantly running out of things.

Food was sparse and not replenished for the entire hour we were there (Photo: Dan Erwin)

We were told twice by the lounge agent that our flight was boarding at a different time than it was so we ended up showing up a bit late and missing Group 1.

The Dreamliner taking us home! (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Despite boarding with Group 3, it all went fairly fast and we were through the second round of US security and in our seats, 1K and 1L, in no time. Although not the same as the outbound flight, we were warmly welcomed by the crew and the inflight service manager. Flight attendants distributed the new Team USA version amenity kits, which I thought was cute.

Seat 1K for the return flight (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Team USA amenity kits (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Team USA Socks and Mask (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Despite the updated amenity kits, the safety video was the old version rather than the new, Team USA version. I also noticed that the Hemispheres magazine was the May version even though we were well into June. Minor inconsistencies but inconsistencies nonetheless.

Overall, the service on this flight was professional and pleasant. I think we were spoiled by the crew on the outbound so although I felt disappointed at the time, I realize that it was still very nice.

United XIY-SFO business first lunch: Beef roll with yam (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Nice serene lighting for a mid flight nap (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, mushrooms, and potatoes- tasted much better than it looks in this photo! (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Almost home! (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Foggy arrival at SFO (Photo: Dan Erwin)

We landed in SF about 10 minutes early, deplaned, and passed through immigration quickly. The whole process took about 20 minutes from the time we stepped off the plane until I walked out to grab my Uber. I expected immigration and baggage claim to be a mess given the multiple international arrivals coming in at the same time but it was surprisingly easy.

Overall, both flights were pretty seamless. The outbound experience was amazing because of our fantastic crew but the return flight was just fine. I am super excited for Polaris to launch so we can all see how United steps up their game.

One final look at United’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Xi’an (Photo: Dan Erwin)

Thanks, Dan, for an excellent Trip Report! And thanks United for providing this opportunity for one of our readers to experience what it’s like to attend an inaugural event and be one of the first passengers on a brand new flight to an exotic city. And thanks to all the readers who participated in this fun contest– check out some of the best entries in this post.

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis capturing a moment on the top of SFO’s shapely new control tower (Image: Doug Yakel)

I fly a lot. And that means I have spent an inordinate amount of time at airports over the course of my frequent flying career. Luckily, most airports have improved immensely over the last few decades, but there are still some that I love a lot more than others.

Not surprisingly, one that sits at the top of my list is my hometown airport San Francisco International (SFO). So when National Car Rental asked me to write up a sponsored post about tips, advice and secrets about SFO, I jumped at the chance. So here we go:

SFO’s secret Garden Patio by Terminal 1 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

1>A SECRET GARDEN. Regrettably, SFO does not yet offer any outdoor terraces from which to view the tarmac, but that should change when a new Grand Hyatt opens on airport grounds (mid-2019) offering views from a rooftop bar. In the meantime, the SFO gardeners, who stay busy keeping the plants inside the airport thriving, recently created a gorgeous outdoor space for airport employees to take a break—but anyone, including passengers, can also enjoy the space surrounded by a verdant collection of drought-tolerant plants and succulents. It’s located outside Terminal 1. (More details) NOTE: New construction around Terminal 1 has encroached a bit on the Secret Garden, but it’s still a nice place to chill out!

New secret passage between Boarding Areas C and D (Image: SFO)

2>SECRET PASSAGE. One of SFO’s biggest achievements is the recent re-do of Terminal 2 (T2), now a standard bearer in airport design and amenities. The light and airy facility houses the operations of American and Virgin America and offers fresh, healthy food provided by local restaurants, mod hotel-style furnishings, awesome runway views, water bottle refill stations, and a constantly changing museum exhibition. It was one of the first airport terminals to receive LEED certification. Last year the marvels of T2 opened up to even more flyers when the airport completed a behind-security passageway connecting it to Delta’s more prosaic wing of Terminal 1 (T1). Unfortunately, a similar passageway does not connect T2 with United’s bustling and always-crowded Terminal 3. (SFO map here)

3>FOOD TRUCKS. If you are stuck in a fog or rain delay at SFO (regrettably common) and have a hankering to hang with some locals, dine at a food truck! Every Thursday at lunchtime (11 am-2 pm), the airport allows local food trucks to line an unused portion of the upper deck (departures level) of Terminal 1. For a truly San Francisco experience, grab a mission-style burrito, easily the city’s most loved (and consumed) meal. After a meal like that, you’ll sleep well on the plane, I assure you.

SFO built one of the first centralized car rental centers (Image: SFO)

4>HITTING THE ROAD. Most folks flying into SFO and renting cars are headed to Silicon Valley (30 mins south), Wine Country (1-2 hours north), or Monterey, Big Sur or Carmel (2 hours south). Luckily SFO’s AirTrain (Blue line) connects all terminals to a nearby centralized car rental facility. In a hurry? National’s Emerald Club members get on the road faster than others because, once off the AirTrain, they bypass the counter and simply walk to the car of their choice (the keys are in it), load up and hit the road. No lengthy wait to check in, get keys or sign contracts. And if the sun is out, consider upgrading to a convertible on the spot! This is California after all, right?

Best spot for plane spotting at SFO in United’s Terminal 3 (Image: SFO)

5>A PLACE FOR AVGEEKS. Most frequent travelers like me are also aviation geeks. To us there’s not much better than a day of plane spotting, and no better airport than SFO to do so. As the Bay Area economy has bubbled over in recent years, airlines from all corners of the world are fighting to add nonstop service. As a result, tarmacs are full of beautiful and exotic birds from around the world. One of the best places to watch planes take off and land is in the newest section of United’s Terminal 3 called “T3E.” At the very end of this concourse (near gates 65 and 66) you’ll find floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking runways where giant jumbos take off, bound for Europe, Asia, the South Seas or the Middle East. The best daylight hours for plane spotting run from about 1 pm until 3 pm. If that is not enough to sate your interest, check out SFO’s Aviation Museum, tucked away in a corner of the international terminal. It’s chock full of constantly-changing, super-size model aircraft hanging from the ceiling, plus aviation exhibits (like collections of vintage flight attendant uniforms, or in-flight amenity kits). Entry to the museum is free of charge and open to the public.

6>RELAX! These days, SFO is a super busy, sometimes hectic place. So finding a spot to chill out, regroup or practice your downward facing dog is essential. Back when SFO opened its state-of-the-art Terminal 2, it opened a “yoga room.” While SFO’s yoga room is not that much different than the chapels or meditation rooms found in other airports (except for the yoga mats), the concept was a PR coup for the airport. It’s tough to find any story about SFO that does not include mention of. Yes, that is yoga “rooms” plural: Just last year, the airport opened a second yoga room in United’s Terminal 3.

Disclosure: Thank you for reading TravelSkills! We will periodically send out messages like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel. Our sponsors’ support, and yours, help us keep TravelSkills a free publication. This post is sponsored by National Car Rental.

Today San Francisco International Airport officially launched the much needed, long anticipated renovation/replacement of its aging Terminal 1, from which Southwest Airlines currently operates.

Today also marked the last public appearance of long-time airport director John Martin who retires next month. In his remarks, Martin got a big chuckle from the crowd (including SF mayor Ed Lee) when he recalled his first ever trip to SFO for a job interview saying, “I flew into Terminal 1 on World Airways, and while I was excited to be there, I thought the place looked like a bus terminal. I’m very pleased to see it go.”

To celebrate the kick off of the project, Martin, Lee and other dignitaries whacked at a Terminal 1 column with shiny new sledgehammers.

The $2.4 billion terminal will be completed in phases over the next eight years. The first phase will be to demolish much of what’s there while preserving a sliver of the current structure as the “Interim Boarding Area B” where Southwest will continue to operate from 9 temporary gates during the renewal. From what I could tell, the interim terminal layout it identical to the old, but will be updated with new carpet and mod egg chairs. (This is where the event was held today.) By 2019, there will be 17 new gates in operation.

SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told TravelSkills: “In September, Southwest will shift from their existing gates to newly-developed gates 23-28. These gates will have all-new materials and finishes, in line with Terminal 2 or Terminal 3 East. This move allows work to begin on the permanent new Boarding Area B, which will be built around the gates Southwest is using right now.”

When it’s complete, the new Terminal 1 Boarding Area B will be bigger, brighter and designed to look and feel like the popular Terminal 2 (Virgin America & American) or United’s newest Terminal 3 Boarding Area E.

SFO’s new terminal 1 will connect to the International Terminal (to the left) and to Delta’s Boarding Area C (to the right). It will also accommodate overflow from international terminal.

Upon completion, Boarding Area B will feature a total of 24 gates, including six gates which can accommodate international arrivals by providing direct access to the U.S. Customs & Border Protections Federal Inspection Area. Connecting walkways located post-security will provide easy access to International Boarding Area A and Boarding Area C (Delta), which has a new behind-security corridor to Terminal 2. Eventually, another behind-security corridor will connect T2 with United’s Terminal 3 although there’s no firm date for when that project will launch.

The Clear trusted traveler program now available at discount from Delta. Will you join? (Image: Chris McGinnis)

More details emerged today regarding Delta’s partnership (and partial ownership) of CLEAR, the company that offers expedited airport security service at 13 airports.

Most important are the discounts for CLEAR membership now offered to Delta SkyMiles members, based on their status. Standard membership in CLEAR is $179 per year. Delta Diamond Medallion members get complimentary CLEAR enrollment, while Platinum, Gold and Silver Medallion members it for just $79. Even general members get a nice discount: annual membership for just $99.

Delta says that it will email members in coming weeks about the discounts. (More from the Delta News Hub here)

Our biggest question however, is if Delta is going to add CLEAR to all its key airports, most importantly, those in New York City, like La Guardia and Kennedy. We also expected to see CLEAR lanes in Delta’s recently reconfigured (and faster) security lanes at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta Airport’s south terminal entrypoint– but so far, they’ve not made an appearance. Delta has not confirmed any new CLEAR locations, and when we last asked, told TravelSkills: “We don’t have any additional location detail for today but hope to later this summer.”

Until CLEAR is available at your hometown airport, or one where you travel to frequently, we’d suggest holding off on paying for the service, even at a discount. This is especially true if you already enjoy PreCheck.

CLEAR currently operates at San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth,Houston Bush, Houston Hobby, San Antonio, Austin, Orlando, Miami, Las Vegas, Baltimore-Washington, and Westchester County Airport in New York. Seattle-Tacoma is next up, but there’s not a firm launch date yet. Additionally, its biometric service can be found at Yankee Stadium in New York, Coors Field in Denver, Marlins Park in Miami and AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Since I live in San Francisco, and use SFO as my primary airport, and it has CLEAR, I have maintained my membership over the years. I don’t need to use it that often (and I hate the “walk of shame” to the front of the line. But the few times it has saved me from missing flights makes it worth the $179 fee. (When it comes time for renewal, I’ll take Delta up on the discount!)

What about you? Have you or do you plan to use CLEAR now that Delta is offering these discounts? Please leave your comments below.

Checking in for a 6:10 p.m. departure from San Francisco to Istanbul (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I’ve dreamed of jumping on Turkish Airlines ever since I first began seeing images of its unusual business class lounge in Istanbul and hearing about its over-the-top inflight service. Most people who have flown Turkish said, “Get to Istanbul airport early so you can enjoy the lounge for a few hours before your flight.” Or, “Don’t eat for a day before flying Turkish- you won’t believe how much food they serve on the plane!”

Those dreams came closer to reality when Turkish started nonstop service between San Francisco and Istanbul last year. My interest was heightened even more when it launched nonstops from Atlanta last month because many TravelSkills readers hail from there.

Regrettably, unrest in Turkey has resulted in a decline in visitors to the country. So when Turkish offered to fly me from SFO to Istanbul (IST) for a TravelSkills Trip Report, I asked if I could fly to Athens instead and report on the experience using IST as a connecting airport, which I thought would be a much more likely scenario for our readers. Currently, about 60 percent of its passengers are transiting IST instead of starting or stopping trips there, and that number could rise.

Since neither SFO or ATL have nonstops to Athens, connecting to Greece via Istanbul (IST) is an easy and convenient option for those headed there or to the popular Greek Isles. (Plus, Turkish and other carriers have deeply discounted business class roundtrips a few times this year to as little as $1,500 round trip, so set up your fare alerts and grab one if you can!) For September trips, business class fares run about $4,000 round trip. Economy is about $1,100. There is no first class or premium economy “comfort” class on the SFO flights.

Turkish is a member of the Star Alliance, so United Mileage Plus members can redeem miles for Turkish Airlines trips.

My trip to Greece and back was quick…just four days on the ground there, plus two days flying. The flight from SFO to IST runs about 13 hours. From Istanbul to Athens is a short hop– only about 90 minutes. So the entire journey, including a quick 90-minute layover in IST was about 15 hours.

Unusual touches like candle-light dining (see the gif!), hot towels served on small plates

Overheated cabins

Young, energetic and professional crew

Issues around booze

Two different B777s on the route

That lounge. Oh, that lounge! (Included in Part 2 of this report)

Check in at SFO was smooth and easy at about 4:30 pm. There were only three people in the business class line and a very friendly, talkative agent wearing a hijab checked me in and told me to proceed to the United Club on International Concourse G.

Flight 81 departs SFO at 6:10 pm, so the club was very busy since several flights depart at around this time. Good news: United has upgraded the food station in the club, offering a broad selection of cheeses, sausages, vegetables, hot soup, bread, crackers and cookies. Plus the spread now has a nice view! Other than that, the United Club has not changed much since my last visit.

When I’m flying to write up a TravelSkills Trip Report, I usually ask if I can board a few minutes early to get some good photos of the cabin before passengers board. Thankfully, Turkish obliged and I snagged some great shots of both business and economy class cabins. I was unable to get an good image of the plane (a Boeing 777-300ER) from the gate area, so I’ve used one from the inaugural arrival at SFO in April 2015.

Business class seats are configured 2-3-2. Since you get outstanding views of North America and nearly the entire continent of Europe during this flight, a window seat is my recommendation. Plus it’s quieter and less likely to be disturbed by movement in the aisle if you are sleeping– and that’s the main upside to the dreaded “middle seat” seen below. Those are the “E” seats.

Seats are comfortable and spacious, and the cabin is nice and open…but there are 7 middle seats that you’ll want to avoid if possible (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Business class is split into two sections on this plane. What you see above is the forward cabin, which has four rows. The aft cabin, behind the galley, has three rows.

What I really liked about this cabin is its open floorplan. Low seatbacks make it very social and fun compared to other layouts which cocoon passengers in their own little worlds. Plus, in this cabin style, I could watch flight crews as they went about rolling out the elaborate inflight meal service. If you are like me, and like to watch what is going on, book a seat near the rear of the cabin. If you want to sleep or work, go for one near the front.

There are miles of legroom between the seat and seatback. It’s tough to use those nice leather ottomans as footrests due to the distance, but it’s a perfect place to sit and visit with friends or colleagues face to face. Note the storage space for shoes and other items underneath the ottoman. When the seat is in full recline, the ottoman becomes part of the lengthy bed.

Nice: Each seat comes with a lumbar support pillow (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Okay, let’s get back up front and take a look at the service and the seat in business class. First thing you should do before boarding a Turkish flight is learn how to say THANK YOU in Turkish. You would not believe the big, surprised smiles you get from the crew when you say Tesekkurler when they help stow your bag, offer you a juice or help make your seat into a bed. It’s pronounced something like Teh-shay-koo-lahrd.Here’s how to say it! Just do it!

I’ve heard over the years that getting a cocktail on Turkish Airlines is complicated. That’s mostly due to the country’s (and current government’s) Muslim roots. For example, Turkish recently stopped offering alcohol on its domestic flights and on several international flights to other Muslim countries.

So for those who’d like to imbibe, here’s how it seems to work: During boarding, flight attendants pass through the business class aisles offering fruit juice and water from a silver tray, but no champagne, a common offering on most other airlines. If you ask for champagne, the flight attendant is more than happy to go get you a glass, but it’s not on the tray. I noticed the same thing during meal service, if you ask for wine with your meal, you’ll get it, albeit a relatively small pour. Flight attendants do not offer you more unless you ask for it– which is quite different from U.S. or European flights where flight attendants wander the aisles with bottles, looking for empty glasses 😉

Business class recliner control (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Seats are comfortable, but I never really understood this recliner control. I still don’t know what the MR and M+ buttons do! Similar to what I experienced on Qantas (See our Qantas Trip Report), a flight attendant will make your seat into a bed at your request, covering the seat with a fitted quilt, offering a large pillow and a blanket. Turkish does not offer business class passengers pajamas for this 13-hour flight.

One this B777 flight, there were 15 crew members, including three chefs and four flight attendants in business class.

A small but very classy touch that I noticed: Hot towels are served on a china plate, not handed to you with tongs (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Elaborate menus in English and Turkish are like menu origami– unfolding into beautiful shapes (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

3 chefs onboard our SFO>IST flight- this one is taking our dinner orders and explaining how each dish is served. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

On SAS, “Chefs” are really flight attendants who change clothes to serve meal. (See our SAS Trip Report) But on Turkish, these guys are dedicated to meal service throughout the flight– there were three onboard in both directions.

A nut mixture that include pistachios, almonds, macadamias and hazelnuts– not a peanut in sight! Note the parsimonious pour of wine. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Prior to the full meal service, the chef and flight attendants wheel out a tiered cart full of all kinds of unusual and delicious appetizers– passengers can choose from about eight options that include: Prawns, smoked trout with horseradish cream, grilled crab cake with sweet chilis, avocado tomato salad, spiced chicken breast, beet & goat cheese salad, hummus, deep fried eggplant with green pepper and tomato sauce, romaine salad with cherry tomatoes and creamy tomato soup! (Sorry I don’t have good photos to share of this course.)

And that’s just the starters! After that, the main courses come. Thankfully, the beautifully orchestrated service takes a while, so it gives you time to assimilate all the food. And I can’t think of a better way to pass the time on a 13-hour flight that departs at dinner time. But I know that a lot of folks would rather just eat quickly and go to sleep and if that’s the case, you can order a open-faced salmon sandwich and cheese cake at any time.

Even the bread plate is elaborate on Turkish Airlines (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

My experience on Turkish was replete with those “small things” that really make a big difference. For example, bread is served in a special cloth pouch to keep it warm and moist– have you ever noticed how fast bread dries out while flying? Not here. Also note that you get both butter and olive oil for your bread, and a small dish of Turkish spices in addition to real salt and pepper shakers. And get this…. they are magnetized so they stick to the plate!

Magnetic salt and pepper shakers! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

By far the most noticeable small touch are the votive candles in tiny bags placed on each dining tray. While these are small electronic votives, they flicker just like the real thing, and add a warm and welcome ambience to the meal service. It’s quite a nice sight to see the entire cabin filled with these flickering lights. Good job!

Main dishes included grilled salmon with parsley butter and zucchini, filet of beef with arugula and roasted potatoes, or mushroom ravioli with leeks, tomatoes and parmesan.

Mushroom ravioli on Turkish Airlines (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Steak option on Turkish Airlines (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After the main course, there is even more! A dessert and cheese cart including several baklava-type Turkish desserts plus apple pie, chocolate mousse and strawberry ice cream. Phew! I agree with the advice I’ve received from others: Do not eat at all before getting on the plane. You’ll regret it!

Chef is back with the cart (for the fourth time) with a broad selection and explanation of tea blends and coffee (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Turks are really big on tea, and the tea selection was endless, including an anti-jet lag blend of melissa, camomille, sour cherry and lavender. For digestion, there’s a fennel, anise and caraway blend. And to help “resolve the edema, reduce the swelling,” there’s a blend of green tea, cherry stalk, cornsilk and close. For stomach relief, you get a cold blend of mint, fennel, lemon and date syrup. Seriously!

When was the last time an airline served you tea like this? Talk about elaborate service! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After a cuppa tea, it was time to start thinking about cooling off and bedding down for the rest of the flight. But the cooling down part was tough. Turkish, like most other European carriers, tends to keep cabins way too warm… to the point of feeling stuffy. Maybe it’s just an American thing, but to me, a cool cabin promotes sleep and is just more comfortable. I inquired about turning the temperature down a bit, but flight attendants pushed back, stating that they are instructed to keep the cabin at 23C – about 75F, and showed me the thermostat. But the cabin sure felt warmer than that, and as you can see below, fellow passengers slept in mostly uncovered. This is not the first time I’ve suffered through an overheated flight, and probably won’t be the last, but is it just me? Or do you feel like some airlines keep the heat up too high? Please leave your comments below.

How do you know a cabin is too warm? When sleeping passengers don’t use their blankets! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Despite the warmth, I was able to get about six hours of sleep on this flight and woke up in late afternoon, Istanbul time, for a hearty breakfast that included a small greek-like salad, cold cuts, and eggs with potatoes and spinach, coffee. Then I took a walk through the plane cabin, and had some fun with the crew just before our 5 p.m. arrival.

One of many small touches that impressed me: Fresh flowers in the galley corridor (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Even breakfast included appetizers– a cheese and tomato salad and sliced turkey (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The fun, young crew on this flight having some fun with me posing for a selfie (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi was free for business class passengers... but the connection was relatively weak, allowing for texting, email and light surfing, but I was unable to upload photos, or access photo-dense websites.

Istanbul Ataturk Airport has clearly outgrown its space. How do I know? Every Turkish Air flight I was on parked at a remote pad, and passengers were bussed to and from the terminal. After a 13-hour flight, a 15-minute bus ride to the terminal is unwelcome, but did not take too long. Due to the growth, Istanbul is now laying plans for one of the largest airports in the world, to be called Istanbul New Airport, the first phase of which is to open in 2018.

My connection from Istanbul to Athens was only about two hours, so I hightailed it to a place I’ve been waiting to see for years, the famous CIP Lounge. It turned out to be everything I’d dreamt of, and more… and my only regret is that I did not have enough time to really soak up all it had to offer! Like pool tables, olive bars, fresh pizza, a driving range, two grand pianos and more!

This post is already long enough, so stay tuned for Part 2, which will include a good look at the lounge and my trip from Greece back to San Francisco. Thanks for reading this far!

TravelSkills readers will soon soak in this view of the Marina Bay Sands whether flying United or Singapore Airlines (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Just two weeks after United Airlines started flying non-stop from San Francisco to Singapore, Singapore Airlines confirmed to TravelSkills that it will do the same beginning this fall – and that it will boost Los Angeles service as well.

While United is using a 787-9 Dreamliner for the route, Singapore said it will rely on a new Airbus A350-900. The airline plans to start flying the non-stop San Francisco route, a trip of about 16 hours, on October 23. Singapore said that in addition to the new non-stops, it will continue to offer daily one-stop service between SFO and Singapore via Hong Kong, using a 777-300ER.

The daily SFO non-stops will replace the airline’s existing daily San Francisco-Seoul-Singapore service; that will be relocated to Los Angeles on October 23, increasing Singapore’s schedule there from one daily flight (LAX-Tokyo-Singapore) to two, with the second one operating via Seoul.

The LAX flights will both use 777-300ERs with first class, business class, premium economy and economy seating. The carrier currently uses an Airbus A380 on the LAX route, which will be phased out. See our Trip Report covering business class on the new 777-300ER.

All Singapore’s west coast flights will feature its new business class. (Image: Singapore Airlines)

The company said the actual flying time for the San Francisco non-stops will range from 14 hours 35 minutes to 17 hours 45 minutes, depending on direction and time of year. It estimated the distance at 8,451 miles.

This new non-stop news is separate from Singapore’s announcement last fall that it will resume non-stop service to New York and Los Angeles in 2018 using a new, ultra-long-haul version of the A350 being developed by Airbus – designated the A350-900ULR — just for that purpose.

Singapore Airlines is a big believer in the A350: It started to take delivery of the next-generation wide-body this year, and has ordered more than 60 of them. The airline first put the plane into service on the Singapore-Amsterdam route a few months ago, and more recently started flying it between Singapore and South Africa.

The Singapore Airlines A350-900 is configured with 253 seats – 42 in business class in a 1-2-1 layout; 24 in premium economy; and 187 in regular economy (No first class). A company representative said the aircraft will be equipped with an enhanced in-flight entertainment system that offers more than 1,000 on-demand options, as well as “innovative technology designed to reduce jetlag via advancements in cabin climate, lighting and noise levels.”

About 16 hours each way between SFO and Singapore (TravelMath)

Which airline would you prefer for the new SFO-SIN 16-hour odyssey? Why? Please leave your comments below.

Earlier this year, I decided to take a trip in April to visit a friend in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was working with a minimal budget and was excited to discover that one of the cheapest economy fares ($1,199 RT) from San Francisco to Edinburgh was offered by Aer Lingus. I had never flown with Aer Lingus before and jumped on the opportunity since I’d heard so many positive things about their service. When I told Chris about my upcoming trip, he mentioned that several readers enjoyed the Trip Report he wrote on Aer Lingus’ new business class, but we didn’t have a trip report on the economy experience. So, I decided to document my first trip on that big green plane!

As I boarded the Aer Lingus A330-200 at SFO, I was politely greeted by all of the crew members and directed to my seat above the wing. When I got there, a pillow, warm fleece blanket, and complimentary earbuds were waiting to help me enjoy the in-flight entertainment.

Once settled into my window seat I found the 32” pitch to be more than enough for my 5’4” self and I was comfortable even with a larger person seated next to me. Before takeoff, I flipped through Aer Lingus’ magazine Cara (“Friend” in Irish Gaelic). I usually get through half of the in-flight magazine before putting it away to watch takeoff, but on my flight to Dublin I only had the chance to flip through some photos as we happily departed almost 10 minutes early. I’m impressed that Aer Lingus operated with such timeliness during my entire journey with them. On my flight home, we landed at SFO 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

Perfect pasta and a really nice salad on the dinner flight over the pond. (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Dinner was served about two hours into the flight with a choice of beef stew or creamy spinach pasta. I don’t eat beef so I went with the pasta, but my seatmate got the stew and enjoyed it. I don’t usually expect much from pasta on airplanes, but the sauce in the dish was delicious and the pasta was cooked perfectly.

The salad is a nice low-carb option (Photo: Kim Grimes)

My meal also came with a light salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and a bit of feta which I enjoyed after my pasta. It was fresh, tasty, and delivered an extra bit of hydration that I really needed. The pasta had enough carbs for me so I didn’t eat the dinner roll, but I did save room for the dessert of berries and light whipped cream.

Plenty of good films, TV shows and music to keep me occupied (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I tried to doze off after dinner, but I spent most of the flight exploring the entertainment system. I was thoroughly distracted with the selection of over 50 films, a variety of TV shows, and an extensive list of music albums, podcasts, and radio stations to indulge in. Wi-fi was also available on the flight at the price of $9.95 for an hour or $18.95 for a full flight pass but the entertainment system was enough to keep me from boredom. When my eyes got too tired to watch any more movies, I browsed the music selection and made a playlist perfect for sleeping. I don’t think I actually slept much, but meditating to the RnB and soft rock sounds for a few hours was nice relaxation.

Good morning! Breakfast is served– with tea (Photo: Kim Grimes)

The cabin crew served morning snack boxes and warm beverages about an hour before we landed in Dublin. Inside was a ham and cheese croissant and a cup of strawberry yogurt. I wasn’t in the mood for yogurt, but I enjoyed the croissant. It was simple, yet comforting and I really appreciated the warm food and tea in the morning.

I’ve never been a fan of propellor planes, but this one changed my mind (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I was not at all excited about taking a propeller plane to connect from Dublin to Edinburgh. I’ve had an aversion to propeller planes since I rode on one as a kid flying over Alabama. It was like a loud, tumultuous rollercoaster that my parents couldn’t wait to get off of. My journey with Aer Lingus was nothing like that. The flight was operated by Irish regional airline Stobart Air (formerly Aer Arann) and had two Aer Lingus crew members on board. These crew members were exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable, reassuring some other nervous passengers and myself that we’d have a safe ride on the ATR 72-600.

I was particularly impressed with how one crew member successfully comforted a terrified, screaming child during the flight by assuring her that the noise and extra turbulence was just part of what makes propeller plane flight special. The entire experience was so stress-free that on the way back I felt no anxiety hopping on the propeller plane, even with someone obnoxiously joking that our plane was probably going down.

(Photo: Aer Lingus)

On my return flight from Dublin to SFO, I got a special treat for my in-flight meal. Before my trip, Chris told me about some upgraded meals that Aer Lingus offers to economy passengers and asked me to try out the service (which he generously paid for 🙂 ). These meals are part of Aer Lingus’ Bia Pre-Order service and have been created by their executive chef and Irish chef Clodagh McKenna.

Passengers who would like to enjoy these meals must pre-order them online at least 24 hours before the flight. Meal options include Roast Chicken with a Twist ($25), Melt-in-the-mouth Salmon ($25), and Succulent Steak ($28). The chicken and steak options are similar to entrees served in business class, but I was really curious about the salmon and decided to try that.

Ordering my meal was as simple as choosing my seat through the “Manage Booking” section of Aer Lingus’ website. My credit card was charged immediately after ordering and a salmon meal voucher was promptly e-mailed to me. The e-mail provided instructions to print the voucher in full and bring it on board with me to submit to the cabin crew. It didn’t specify when I should submit the voucher, so I asked a crew member at the door as I boarded and she took it right away.

I got settled in my seat and was really absorbed in watching a television show on my laptop when a crew member came by with some food on trays and asked if I ordered a special meal. I was really caught off-guard since the meal service hadn’t been announced yet, but he handed me a nice tray with my salmon meal on it and offered me some wine.

There was nobody sitting next to me on this flight, but I wonder how people would have reacted to my special meal service if the plane was more crowded. I was prepared for a few envious glares and questions about why I got such a fancy meal when others did not. As the distinct scent of salmon floated around my section, I looked around to see if anyone was really noticing. The cabin was nearly empty and the few passengers near me were too caught up in their own experience to show much interest in what I was eating so I was able to enjoy my meal without judgement.

The mouthwatering salmon was perfectly prepared- but I wondered what other passengers were thinking! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

I love salmon, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from salmon on an airplane. As I took my first bite, any negative preconceived notions I had about “airplane salmon” went away. It was delicious and the texture was perfect – not too dry or rubbery. It wasn’t extravagant with flavors, but it was well done and exceeded my expectations. The potatoes that accompanied the salmon were less impressive. They were very bland, but also too oily for my taste. I ate all of them, but they were definitely my least favorite part of the entire meal.

My favorite part of the meal (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Surprisingly, the real highlight of the meal for me was the salad of aubergine, roasted pepper, and sunblushed tomato with a harissa and lemon dressing. The dressing had the perfect kick and reminded me of homemade cocktail sauce.

Yogurt with fruity chunks! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

For dessert, I had a sweet mango and passionfruit yogurt (instead of the listed raspberry pannacotta) with real chunks of fruit in it. Delicious! Plus, a lovely chocolate truffle by Irish chocolatier Lily O’Brien. I couldn’t help but eat them both!

I was so full from my meal that I could barely even look at the farewell chocolate bar given to me by the crew right before landing at SFO. My Bia pre-ordered meal was a great way to have a bit of extra fun on my flight home and add a little luxury to my first trip with Aer Lingus.

This Qantas seat was the most mis-identified on the Business Class Expert Quiz (Chris McGinnis)

Did you take our recent Business Class Quiz? Over 3,200 readers gave it a go and most did very well! Our readers really are business class experts (and they obviously read our famous Trip Reports very closely). Which seat was mid-identified most? It was the Qantas business class seat. Most players thought it was Turkish Airlines’ seat. The seat that nearly everyone got right? United’s BusinessFirst seat. Here’s a breakdown of scores:

TravelSkills readers are business class masters! Check out how well you did!

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

More flights between California and Paris this week on XL Airways (Photo: SFO)

International route news this week includes a new French carrier coming to Los Angeles (and back to SF), a new Denver route for Air Canada, Delta transatlantic flights from the Twin Cities and New York JFK, Air France non-stops to Paris Orly, a Lufthansa subsidiary’s introduction of Boston service, and United’s decision to put a Dreamliner on a key South American route.

The French carrier XL Airways has started service to Los Angeles International, operating three flights a week to Paris out of Terminal 2 with an A330. The airline offers two-class service, including regular coach and Premium Galaxy class. The leisure-oriented carrier provides all passengers with one free checked bag, a hot meal and a snack – with upgraded cuisine and wines in the front cabin. XL also flies to Paris from New York, San Francisco and Miami. Also this week, XL’s seasonal SFO-Paris flights resumed.

Air Canada, a partner in United’s Star Alliance, this week kicked off the only non-stop service between Denver and Montreal. The daily flight leaves Denver at 6:25 p.m., using a 73-seat Embraer regional jet with business and regular economy seating. The aircraft is Wi-Fi equipped and offers free digital seatback entertainment and a power port at every seat.

Delta plans to revive Atlanta-Brussels flights in 2017. (Image: City of Brussels)

Delta has launched a new seasonal transatlantic route and plans to add two more routes to Europe in 2017. The airline last week began daily summer non-stop service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Rome, using a 226-seat 767 that departs at 5:25 p.m. from MSP. It will continue through Labor Day.

Delta also announced that it plans to resume non-stop flights between its Atlanta hub and Brussels next year; the seasonal service will begin March 27 and continue through the summer, Delta said, using a 767-300. Delta also offers year-round service to Brussels from New York JFK. And on May 25, 2017, Delta will start up new daily seasonal service from New York JFK to Glasgow, Scotland, using a 164-seat 757-200ER. A few weeks ago, Delta launched JFK-Edinburgh flights.

Also at New York JFK, Air France this week started flying to Paris – not to Paris Charles de Gaulle, where it offers multiple daily flights with SkyTeam partner Delta, but to Paris Orly. Its only competition on the New York-Paris Orly route is from British Airways subsidiary Openskies, which flies to the French airport from both JFK and Newark. Air France is flying the route with a 777-200 that has business class, premium economy and regular economy seating. The carrier noted that it recently opened a new premium lounge in Hall 3 at Orly, available to La Premier and business class passengers, as well as Flying Blue elite members.

Eurowings, the low-cost subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, has started new U.S. service to Boston from Germany’s Cologne-Bonn Airport. The carrier flies the route three times a week with an A330-200 that has business class, regular economy and extra-legroom economy seating.

According to Routesonline.com, United Airlines plans an equipment change on its Houston-Santiago, Chile route effective June 30, replacing the current 767-300ER with a 787-8 Dreamliner.

Nearly every truly frequent international traveler now enjoys the magic of the Global Entry program. Those who enroll submit to a background check, and once approved, can re-enter the U.S. via a special kiosk lane at customs & immigration that takes seconds instead of minutes (or in some cases, hours).

What makes Global Entry even better is that once approved, you automatically get into the TSA’s essential PreCheck program, which speeds you through airport security.

At $100 for five years, you get two proven line-busters at the airport. That’s just $20 per year. That’s a no-brainer, right?

Well, the problem with Global Entry is that it might have become TOO popular. Especially after all the recent falderal about long airport lines. That popularity means that the wait to get your Global Entry status has swollen to unacceptable levels.

Special lanes marked by floor signs at SFO (Photo Chris McGinnis)

For example here’s one of several emails we’ve received recently at TravelSkills:

Wondering if you can discuss the ridiculous long waits for the Global Entry appointments at SFO? The wait is now six months! Luckily I managed to get a cancelled time slot, so I only needed to wait two months. My “interview” took less than five minutes, even though each interview is allotted 15 minutes. There were three agents there at the enrollment office. So instead of handling just 12 people in that hour, they clearly could have handled 24-36 people in that one hour, at least halving the wait times.

Well, that frustration might be ameliorated soon at San Francisco International and elsewhere. According to SFO, US Customs & Border Protection has announced a pilot program to expand the hours of the Global Entry enrollment office to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The pilot is set to begin on June 12 and run for 60 days, at which time the program will be evaluated.

“Due to the overwhelming success of the Global Entry program and the subsequent increase in applications, CBP clearly recognizes the need for additional interview opportunities,” said Brian J. Humphrey, CBP’s Director of Field Operations in San Francisco.

A CBP spokesperson told TravelSkills that currently the the 24/7 pilot program will be tested at SFO only.

The Global Entry Enrollment Center at SFO is located pre-security on the arrivals level of the International Terminal. The facility already offers permanent hours of 7:00am-11:00pm, and will expand to 24/7 on June 12, 2016 for the 60-day pilot program. The expanded hours will offer an additional 826 appointment slots for travelers to enroll. For more information, visit: www.globalentry.gov.

Do you have Global Entry? Or are you in the queue waiting to get your membership? Please leave your comments below.

Don’t miss the AJC editorial about the Delta-Fox brouhaha which starts out like this: Atlantans were aghast last week when the body of the beloved Fox Theatre was found in a car trunk, bound and gagged, a single shot to the back of the head.

TravelSkills was invited to a big United Airlines event in NYC in early June which requires signing a non-disclosure agreement to get in the door. Regrettably we can make it due to a prior commitment (flying Turkish Airlines to Istanbul!), but we’ll keep an eye out for the news. Rumor has it that United will reveal a new BusinessFirst seat design at the event. But who knows? What do you think it could be? Leave your prognostications below.

United revealed this new first class seat for its domestic A319, A320 and some 757 aircraft last year. Will a new BusinessFirst seat be revealed next week? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Links to stories from other sources that we thought you’d like to read:

An Air Berlin A330-200 at SFO nonstop to Dusseldorf- but we all wish it were Berlin! (Photo: SFO)

We do our best to keep up with all the new flights at key airports around the country, especially here in our home town of San Francisco.

Due to the frothy tech economy, SFO just keeps piling on more and more flights and many of them start this summer.

SFO says the summer travel season will begin in earnest on Friday, May 27, with more than 156,000 forecasted passengers arriving and departing SFO. In total, more than 15.5 million travelers are expected at SFO between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Luckily, at least for now, SFO does not seem to be suffering from the freakishly long TSA lines we’ve seen splashed across social media this week.

WOW Air roared into the market with super low fares to Iceland and beyond, which is keeping transatlantic fares in check on all airlines, all summer long.

Fiji Airways is SFO’s latest coup (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fiji Airways plans to kick off seasonal service between San Francisco and Nadi, Fiji, using an A330-200. The service will operate two days a week (Thursdays and Sundays) from June 16 through August 14, and again December 15-January 15.

United crew plus a couple Terracotta Warriors at inaugural festivities for new nonstop to Xian (Photo: SFO)

United Airlines has also launched new nonstop destinations from SFO, including Nashville, Tennessee, Tel Aviv, Israel, and the first flight from the United States to Xi’an, China. (Stay tuned for the TravelSkills contest winner’s trip report later this summer!)

You will soon soak in this view of the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore after flying nonstop on United from SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Later this summer, United will also launch nonstop service to Auckland, New Zealand and the first-ever nonstop service to Singapore and Hangzhou, China.

Not only was it Norwegian Air Shuttle’s first flight from Oakland International to London Gatwick, it was also the first scheduled flight ever from Oakland to London.

When invited to participate in a media “simulation” of the Norwegian inaugural flight on May 11—which meant I would go onboard a couple of hours before the flight to experience the product, then deplane—I was curious. Norwegian’s fares to Europe are strikingly low, I’d never flown the young airline, plus it has been the subject of some regulatory controversy. I signed on for the evening.

A notable element of this route is what it’s not: SFO to London-Heathrow (LHR). The Norwegian flight instead links those airports’ smaller single-runway neighbors: Oakland and London-Gatwick (LGW). OAK has always been a favorite of mine because, unlike SFO, weather rarely affects on-time arrivals and departures. Its small size also makes it quick to navigate, and now it’s getting a $100 million facelift in Terminal 1, plus a $35 million international hall.

Gatwick (LGW) is also up-and-coming as Heathrow reaches capacity limits. LGW is 28 miles south of central London but still convenient–the easy 30-minute, approximately $30 Gatwick Express will whisk you from the airport to Victoria Station in the heart of the city.

Another thing that Norwegian Air is not: A business class airline. On its 787 Dreamliner, it only offers seats in economy class (259) and premium economy class (32). No pricey-but-cozy lie-flight seats here. But… all premium economy seats offer in-seat power outlets if you want to stay up and work across the pond. Norwegian refers to its premium economy seats as simply, “Premium.” (Norwegian also flies nonstop to Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen from Oakland.)

But limited recline for premium economy seats might be disappointing for those longing to lie-flat. (Photo: Nancy Branka)

Really, the OAK-LGW fares are hard to beat, in peak-season July starting at $1,130 round trip in economy and $1,700 in premium economy. (Compared to premium economy fares on BA or Virgin SFO-LHR which run around $2,250 roundtrip.) Ben Kaufman, Norwegian’s communications manager, told me the carrier will not reduce fares for a summer sale because they are already booking at 90% loads. However, he suggested premium economy fares would be reduced later in the year on all flights, with this route being one of the early beneficiaries.

Once I boarded the 787-800, it was fun to explore before sitting in the premium cabin for dinner. Remember, for Norwegian, premium does not mean business class but compares to premium economy on other carriers. Seats do not fully recline. Norwegian’s SVP sales, Lars Sande, explained that lie-flat seats are three times as costly, and it was more important to customers to keep the fares low. Economy cabin seat pitch is an acceptable 31-32 inches; premium economy is 46 inches.

My meal sounded beautiful on paper (for example, Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with a mildly spicy and flavorful Thai Green Curry Sauce), but I had trouble getting past the cardboard box in which it was served, this being premium class and all. The shrimp was OK, but I wrestled with removing the layers of foil that covered it—which added to the self-serve feeling, again not feeling the premium. At least premium economy fares do include complimentary meals (dinner and breakfast) and alcohol, while economy fares do not.

Something I particularly liked was the plane’s aesthetic—grey leather seats accented with the company’s signature red. I was especially enamored with framed, poster-sized black-and-white photos of Nordic heroes hung on bulkhead walls. Similarly, the airline’s tail fins feature black and white portraits of these icons.

At some airports, but regrettably not Oakland, Norwegian offers premium economy passengers access to special airport lounges. Oakland-bound passengers can enjoy a lounge at London-Gatwick, for example. Plus, premium economy passengers get access to speedy Fast Track lines at customs and immigration when arriving at LGW.

If you generally fly business class and want to arrive in London well rested and feeling a little special, this is probably not your airline. But if you just want to get to London as inexpensively as you can and don’t mind sacrificing some things to achieve that, Norwegian Air may be your ticket.

Have you flown Norwegian Air? What did you think? Please leave your comments below.

TripIt co-founder Scott Hintz is a world traveler…and TravelSkills reader!

There aren’t a lot of celebs in the biz travel space, but we found one of them!

Last month I noticed via social media that TripIt co-founder (and longtime TravelSkills reader)Scott Hintzwas headed to Tokyo in first class on Japan Airlines using his American AAdvantage award miles. Knowing he has a very discerning eye, I asked if he wouldn’t mind taking some notes and reporting back to TravelSkills about his experience. Luckily, he obliged with an excellent post and a handful of photos. Thanks for this excellent reader report, Scott!

Some highlights of this report:

Insider advice on finding award seats on AAdvantage partner airlines

Some problems getting through security at LAX

Review of the spacious and relatively empty Qantas lounge at LAX with 5-star dining

No amenity kit or PJs in first class. Wait. What?

Champagne, caviar…and Japanese pickles

Speedy, cheap wi-fi relieves sleepless long-haul boredom

A good, hard look at the first class lavatory

Return from Haneda nonstop to SFO- meal service needs upgrade

Scott wrote, “I think the things where JAL is weakest would be pretty easy to fix, so I hope they address those items. I’d already give them an A- on this trip, but could easily see them becoming an A with a few minor tweaks.”

What worked and what didn’t? Read on!

(XIAN CONTEST! Thanks for all the entries to our contest for 2 United business class tickets to Xian! We are overwhelmed reading through all of them, but should have a winner chosen by the end of today. Stay tuned!)

Booking

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

I booked this trip using American AAdvantage miles, which at the time of booking required 62,500 each way (125k roundtrip). Booking that same award today would be 80,000 each way. I find that Japan Airlines releases award availability sporadically. A few months ago, they released a lot of award seats available across a wide variety of dates, but then that ended. Now, I tend to see them release empty F/J seats mostly within 7 days of departure, if they exist.

Since aa.com doesn’t display award availability for JAL, the best way to search for seats is to use the British Airways website. Just search for tickets using Avios as the form of payment, and if you find JL award seats via BA, then you can call AA and they should see the same availability and will be able to book it for you.

Seats

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

We were on JL 61 from LAX to Narita on the outbound (and were schedule to return on JL 62 from NRT to LAX on the return, but ended up switching to the HND-SFO nonstop, which I’ll explain more later). This flight is operated by a 777-300ER with 8 seats in first class. We selected seats 2A and 2D, which were the window and aisle seats adjacent to each other. We would have preferred two window seats (like 1A and 2A or 1K and 2K), but JAL seems to block seats 1A and 1K for pre-assignment. I’ve heard that they save those for people with very high status with the airline or VIPs and you can only get them by requesting them at the airport.

Unfortunately for us, both 1A and 1K were taken a few days prior to departure, so we just had to settle for our window and aisle. I wasn’t thrilled about being in the middle section with a stranger on the other side of the divider from me, but honestly, once on the plane, you had virtually no idea anyone was sitting next to you. The “suite” is large and the divider gives you plenty of privacy, so it really wasn’t a concern.

Security

This flight left out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at LAX, which is a beautiful space with great shopping, restaurants, and lounges. Unfortunately, the security situation there is terrible. This is my third time flying out of TBIT as an originating passenger and I’m still amazed how bad the security situation is. There is no TSA Pre-Check in this terminal, which sort of makes sense since foreign airlines can’t participate in TSA Pre, but if you are flying an AA domestic flight out of this terminal, you technically quality for Pre, so it’s too bad it’s not offered. There is a special line for first and business class passengers (but not for elites flying coach, as far as I can tell), but in my experience, that line isn’t always open. I had a 9am flight to MIA recently and there was no line for premium pax, so I had to wait almost an hour to get through security.

On this trip, the first/business class line was open, but it still took us almost 45 minutes to get through security. There were a lot of people trying to get through, but only 3 scanners operating (I think they have about 8 or 9 scanners in total, so clearly they need to increase staffing and improve throughput). Once you get to the front of your queue (economy or first/business), a staffer then assigns you to a specific security lane. I would suggest people try to avoid the first lane, because that’s also where crew, airport employees, and passengers rushing to catch a flight leaving soon will all be allowed to cut to the front of the line. So that first lane moves a lot more slowly than the others.

It seems that AA operates flights to AUS, ATL, MIA, and other destinations out of this terminal. I’m really surprised they put the premium MIA route of here and force those passengers, in particular, to endure the sub-par security experience in TBIT. If I was flying AA out of LAX going forward, even if that flight was departing from TBIT, I think I would go to terminal 4 and use the Pre-Check lane, then use the new connector to walk from Terminal 4 to TBIT (where you won’t have to clear security again). The other advantage of this approach is that AA has an Admirals Club in T4, but not in TBIT — and you won’t be allowed to use the Oneworld lounges in TBIT unless you are traveling internationally.

Lounge

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

In LAX, JL has first class customers use the Qantas First Lounge, which was excellent. Our flight was departing LAX at 1:20pm and there aren’t many Oneworld international departures at that time, so the lounge was also delightfully empty. It’s a very large space, so it’s hard to imagine that it would ever be that full, actually.

While the lounge didn’t have a spa with free massages a la VS, BA, EY, etc., nor hip music and lighting with waiters bopping around the lounge like VS, it did the basics very well. There’s a long, beautiful bar along the entire back of the lounge that serves anything your heart could desire. The seating is plentiful and comfortable. The overall design of the lounge is quite nice and just a joy to be in.

But we found the highlight to be the sit-down restaurant with full waiter service. The menu, service, and food all felt like dining in a true 5-star restaurant in any major city. Kudos for Qantas for a job very well done.

Boarding

When we got to the lounge, they told us that boarding would begin at 1:00 — which struck us as awfully close to the 1:20 departure time. Just to be safe, at around 12:55, we started to gather our things and head out of the lounge, and it was only as we exited at 1:00 that they made the first boarding announcement for our flight. It was probably about a 7-8 minute walk to the gate from the lounge, so that sounds very tight, but it made a little more sense once we got to the gate and saw that JL does a great job of giving F customers an easy boarding experience. They have clear signage for both F and J passengers, with dedicated jetways for each.

We breezed right onto the plane and directly into the F cabin. Since J and Y pax used different doors, we never saw another passenger other than those in the F cabin. It felt peaceful and relaxing, much different from the typical domestic boarding experience! A cabin attendant was there waiting to greet us as we boarded the plane and showed us to our seats.

The purser quickly came over and introduced herself, made a real effort of letting us know her name (pronouncing it slowly and pointing to her name tag so we could see it in writing) and letting us know that she was there to help in any way needed. Her colleagues in the F cabin were very quick to take and hang our jackets, offer us pre-departure beverages, show us a few features of the seats, and offer any help we needed. We felt very welcome and I could tell we were going to have a great crew.

Settling In

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

Waiting at our seats were Bose headphones, slippers, a pillow, and a blanket. The blanket was more like the kind of thing you’d put on your lap while watching TV, not the duvet you were meant to sleep with (which was distributed later after takeoff). A flight attendant came by and gave us menus — in this case, they just gave us the printed menu directly, while on our return flight, it was inside a large leather portfolio, which also included a pamphlet for duty-free shopping and a landing card for the U.S.

To my surprise, neither an amenity kit nor pajamas were waiting for us on our seats nor were they distributed prior to departure. I thought maybe it was an oversight, but the same thing happened on our return, so I’m assuming that’s JL’s standard way of doing things. But I just asked the flight attendant for both and they were happy to oblige immediately. The pajamas were great — I think my favorites among all the ones I’ve received on other airlines (EY, BA, CX, AA). I took a large on the first flight and a medium on the return and I think the M was actually a pretty good fit, which surprised me since I’m almost 6′ tall and I figured an Asian airline might run small. Since returning home, I’ve washed both sets of pajamas and neither shrank very much and they held up very well.

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

The amenity kit was also pretty good. It came in a nice, soft case with a zipper and included eyeshade, earplugs, a moisture mask, lip balm, dental kit, tissue, cologne, and brush. In addition to that, the flight attendant gave me a separate case of products specifically for a man, which was Shiseido brand — cleanser, moisturizer, and hydrating lotion. That came in a nice, hard-sided case which I could easily see being used to store sunglasses in the future. Compared to other airlines I’ve flown in F over the past few years, JL is probably my favorite among amenity kits.

Initial impressions of the seat were fine — nothing great, nothing bad, just right in the middle. The dark brown leather is pleasing enough, but nothing special. The 23″ monitor is quite nice and made for good movie watching. Aside from that, you had the basics of a power outlet, lighting controls, and a handheld controller for operating the entertainment system. The monitor is actually a touch screen, so you can operate it that way, as well, but it’s so far away that it’s hard to reach the screen. However, the handheld controller didn’t work very well — it’s so small, it’s hard to touch the tiny buttons on screen and navigate the complicated user interface. And it didn’t seem very responsive to touch, either. So I would often unbuckle my seatbelt and just lean way forward to touch the monitor itself.

The Flight

Despite beginning boarding pretty late by my standards, we left pretty much right on time. Since I couldn’t see back in J or Y, I don’t know how full the flight was, so it’s hard to say how they boarded such a large plane so quickly, but they did it. Taxi was relatively short and we were in the air quickly after departure. And the captain turned off the seatbelt sign very quickly — I didn’t time it, but it felt like about a minute after takeoff. We also noticed that the seatbelt sign stayed off for the entire flight, even though we had light turbulence for at least half the flight.

The flight attendants also began meal service very quickly, coming through the cabin to take orders while we were still climbing in altitude. I very much appreciated how quick all of this went down, which would have been especially great on a night flight where you want to get to sleep right away (which was the case on our return from HND, which departed at midnight). The flight attendants spoke good English and were very helpful in discussing the menu, offering suggestions and asking if we wanted to sample something that we weren’t familiar with.

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

I loved the Salon champagne that they served, and the flight attendant seemed very proud to be serving such a nice brand. She presented the bottle to me before pouring my glass, and stood there waiting for me to take my first sip and let her know that I liked it.

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

We both had the Japanese menu and enjoyed it. Neither of us are connoisseurs of Japanese cuisine, so we don’t have a lot to compare it to, but we liked it. We didn’t really know what some of the smaller appetizer dishes were, and one or two of them seemed a little odd, but that’s probably just because we’re not used to Japanese food beyond sushi. I had the steamed bass as an entree and it was incredibly good — one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever had on a plane. Moist, flavorful, and served warm with perfectly cooked rice and Japanese pickles. Yum.

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

While eating the meal, I perused the entertainment selection and was a little underwhelmed. It was ok, but the selection of movies and TV shows wasn’t as extensive as other airlines I’ve flown. They did have a lot of Japanese and other Asian content, but western options felt somewhat limited. I also noticed that the seat wasn’t super comfortable for lounging. It doesn’t move in a million different directions, as some other airlines’ seats do, and the padding was pretty firm. I just had a hard time adjusting things to the point where I was really comfortable.

After the meal, flight attendants asked if we wanted to have our beds made, and we said yes. JL offers aTempur-pedic “mattress” that they put down on your seat, with one side being firm and the other being soft. I selected soft, went to the lavatory, and returned to find my bed nicely made up. While it was comfortable, I will say that the bed is where I think JL could improve a fair bit. As mentioned above, the seat itself is pretty firm, but unfortunately the “soft” side of the mattress didn’t help much. Also, the mattress is just a thin layer of material — picture something along the lines of a yoga mat — and doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that gets cleaned in any way. Maybe I’m wrong, but I didn’t see any way to remove the outer cover, so I’m not sure how they would even clean them. So it felt a little weird laying directly on top of it. My suggestion would be to lay a thin sheet down on top of the mattress and it would be a lot nicer. Also, the duvet was large and thick, but the pillow was shockingly small. It felt more like something they’d hand out in coach, not first.

I wasn’t able to get comfortable, which may have a lot to do with not being able to sleep. It’s also a challenge on a flight leaving at 1:20pm to fall asleep until the final hours of flight. Unfortunately, since the entertainment selection was so limited and the few big Hollywood movies they had, I had already seen, I found myself just laying there feeling pretty bored for a few hours. So I decided to check out the wifi on board, and I’m glad I did. It’s only $19 for unlimited internet for the entire flight, or $14 for 3 hours (there are other pricing plans, too, but those seemed like the best deals). I chose the 3 hour plan and was really happy with how fast and stable the connection was. I was able to do a lot of reading, emailing, checking Facebook, etc. A great way to the pass the time or get some work done.

There is a mid-flight menu where you can order snacks at any point if you get hungry, so I eventually did order some noodles. Flight attendants didn’t come through the cabin very often, but if you pressed the call button at your seat, they would show up instantly and were smiling and happy to help. It took about 10 minutes for the noodles to be ready and they were delicious.

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

I should mention that when the flight attendant took my lunch/dinner order after takeoff, she also asked me if I wanted to be woken for a meal prior to landing, and if so, at what time. I thought that was a nice touch and I told them I’d want to eat 90 minutes before arrival. Although I never fell asleep, the flight attendant did come by promptly at 90 minutes prior to landing to ask if I’d like to have the meal. I ordered a few items from the a la carte menu, the highlight of which was the seafood curry, which was warm and comforting. The beef skewers were forgettable, while the green salad was good (as good as can be for a simple salad).

Also, a few comments on the lavatory. There are actually two lavs you can use in the F cabin, so with only 8 passengers max, you rarely have to wait (I think one of the lavs might be for crew, but they let F pax use it if the other one is occupied). Both lavs are pretty modest, fairly small and basic, but perfectly functional. I was actually surprised that there were no products in the lavs — no face spray, no hand lotion, nothing besides a few dental kits. This is the first time I can recall ever flying in a J or F cabin and not having at least some hand lotion. This wouldn’t be so bad if the amenity kit included hand lotion, but it didn’t — it had a facial moisturizer, which of course can be used on hands, but I’m really surprised there was no proper hand cream anywhere on the plane as far as I could see. Also, the handsoap in the lav is something you pump out of the metal “soap” lever that’s part of the sink. This also felt very basic, like something you’d expect to find in a public restroom at a baseball stadium; whereas I usually find a nice plastic bottle of some kind of fancy designer soap attached to the top of the basin on other airlines.

While I didn’t use it, the toilet did have the typical Japanese set of controls that seemed to warm the seat and offer a variety of water jets and sprays. Also, one thing that I really appreciated and don’t think I’ve seen on other carriers were two tables that folded down from the wall. One descended to floor level and you could step on it once you took off your slippers, so your bare socks wouldn’t have to touch the (presumably dirty) floor as you changed into your pajamas. The other one was more at waist level and was a convenient place to set your clothing as you changes (avoiding the need to place it in the sink area, where it could be wet).

Finally, although the F cabin is pretty segregated from the rest of the plane, I did manage to peek through the curtain into the business class cabin in the middle of the flight. My first impression was that it looked nice. The seats seemed what you’d expect in J, but I really liked the staggered layout that would make it easier to get in and out of a window seat without having to climb over the person next to you.

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

Arrival

As the crew prepared the cabin for arrival, they came around and thanked us for flying them with another round of very warm smiles. The crew really was fantastic on this flight, one of the best I’ve had flying internationally.

Although we left right on time, we didn’t arrive in Narita early. It seems that headwinds were stronger than usual, so that extended flying time. That was a benefit on the return flight, as we left on time, but arrived into SFO over an hour early.

Exiting the plane was quick and easy, followed by a reasonable walk to immigration and customs. What surprised me, though, was that F passengers didn’t get any kind of special fast-track lane for immigration. There was one lane with a “priority” sign above it, but I asked an employee if we could use it as F passengers, and they said no. So I don’t know who gets to use it, but apparently F and J pax stand in the same long lines as everyone else. And it was a somewhat lengthy wait, around 30 minutes to clear immigration. The queue was noisy, stuffy, and just generally felt a little chaotic, so I’m really surprised JL hasn’t arranged something special for at least F pax.

Return Flight

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

Our return was supposed to be NRT-LAX-SFO, as the nonstop HND-SFO didn’t have award seats available when we originally booked. But I checked again while in Tokyo and saw that four award seats had opened up, so I called AA to make the change. That flight leaves HND at midnight, so we enjoyed a full final day in Tokyo before departing the hotel around 9:30pm for HND. As most people know, HND is a lot closer to central Tokyo than NRT and you can easily take public transport there (a roughly 30 min subway ride from Ginza for about $5 as compared to a two-hour bus or train ride at around $30 from NRT).

We were surprised to find that AA doesn’t consider NRT and HND to be co-terminals, so they do charge a $150 change fee to change airports in Tokyo. Here’s hoping AA changes its policy on that.

The return flight itself was uneventful, very similar to the inbound flight except for a few minor details. However, I will say that we were very unimpressed with the JAL First lounge at Haneda. I’ve read glowing reviews of it online from when this new lounge opened in 2014, so I was surprised at how lackluster it felt in our experience. It would have been an OK business class lounge (not great, just OK), but definitely did not feel like anything special for first class. In particular, the food situation was very disappointing. Not only is there no table service, but the self-service buffet (including trays that felt almost right out of a high school cafeteria) was small and the food unappealing.

There was no bar (and of course, no bartender), but rather just a few self-serve bottles of wine and spirits. In fact, there wasn’t even any bottled water — there was only a pitcher with the word “water” on it in the refrigerator. I did see a worker at one point refill that pitcher with a large plastic bottle of Evian, but had I not seen that, I would have assumed it was just tap water. At one point, I walked over to the business class lounge to check out the food there, and realized it was exactly the same, with one small exception. The first class side includes a chef who is cooking teppanyaki (think along the lines of a Benihana restaurant) to order. That sounds nice, and it was ok, but nothing really special. The beef he cooked could have just as easily been sitting in a warmer on the buffet line and I wouldn’t have known any difference.

Since we were departing at midnight, my original plan was to eat in the lounge and then sleep right away once on board, but clearly that wasn’t going to pan out. The food selection in the lounge was so lackluster, I barely ate anything and figured I would just have a meal on the plane. Or so I thought. I was shocked when we boarded that the menu only included a very limited “late night snack” service with a few measly food options. I just had some noodles and tried to get some sleep, still feeling hungry.

(Photo: Scott Hintz)

Unfortunately, things didn’t improve prior to landing — again, much to my surprise, the meal they serviced prior to arrival was breakfast. I can’t quite figure out the logic of that, as we were landing in San Francisco at around5pm local time, which should be dinner. Granted, it would be around 9am in Tokyo, which I suppose could justify breakfast, but shouldn’t it be based more on local time? Especially since the departure meal was so light, you’d think they’d give you a heavier meal on the other end. I really think JL should re-consider the meal service on this flight, as it was a big let-down.

Summary

We had a very good experience on JAL. They do some things great (boarding experience, LAX lounge — although it’s operated by Qantas, attentive and friendly crew, amenity kits/pajamas, great wifi), and there are a few misses (HND lounge, meal service on night flight, entertainment selection). Overall, a very solid experience and I’d be happy to fly them again. I also have a feeling their business class product on the 773 is pretty good and I’d be willing to give that a try in the future.

The Bay Area is getting yet another one of these shiny new birds (Photo: KLM)

It becoming increasing difficult to find a flight out of the Bay Area that’s not on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Today, KLM announced that it, too, will deploy its first US Dreamliner between Amsterdam and San Francisco International on May 4.

KLM will offer 787-9 Dreamliner flights twice weekly throughout the summer season in addition to its daily flight, currently operated by a Boeing 747-400 from San Francisco-SFO to Amsterdam-AMS. KLM told TravelSkills that “after the summer season the Dreamliner could remain on the AMS-SFO route based on demand.”

KLM Dreamliner flight schedule – on Wednesdays and Sundays only:

KL610: Departs San Francisco-SFO at 4:45 p.m., arrives at Amsterdam-AMS at 12:15 p.m. the following day;

KLM is the only carrier offering nonstop flights between SFO and Amsterdam. I’m surprised to see that fares are currently extremely high on its nonstop flight compared to one-stop options. According to Google Flight, business class SFO-AMS roundtrips in May are about $10,000 roundtrip. Economy Comfort is around $3,000 and economy is about $1,700. (One stop business class on other airlines is running as low as $4,000, economy is at about $1,200)

The Dreamliner will be a far cry from the ancient MD11 that KLM only recently removed from regular service on the SFO route. The 306-passenger jet will offer a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system, Wi-Fi for all passengers, and new World Business Class (WBC), Economy Comfort, and Economy class cabins designed by renowned Dutch Designer Hella Jongerius. It’s also outfitted with inflight Wi-Fi. And like other Dreamliners, the plane will have larger windows, a higher cabin pressure and special LED-lighting.

There are 42 seats in business class, 48 in economy comfort (35 inches of pitch) and 216 standard economy seats (with 31 inches of pitch). See SeatGuru layout here. All business class seats have direct aisle access– no middle seats on this bird. Interestingly, every seat is a slightly hue of blue or gray and gets a 16-inch entertainment screen- as well as a smaller handset that mirrors the image on the main screen. Oh, and there’s inflight espresso, too.

KLM says its economy class seats recline 40 percent more than previous models and have access a power outlet. There are also new 11-inch HD entertainment touchscreens, interactive 3D maps, and the option to communicate via Seat Chat with fellow passengers who are not seated nearby.

A QANTAS 747-400 parked at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport. Note the Sydney skyline in the background! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last month I took a dive to the land down under on a big QANTAS 747-400 in business class on its recently restored nonstops between San Francisco International and Sydney.

Highlights of this 14-hour flight include:

A business class lounge that exceeded my expectations

One of the best nights of sleep I’ve ever had onboard a plane

A spin through an empty 747 including the secret crew rest area

Bottled water that helps with jet lag

Pajamas worth changing into

Dramatic view from the cockpit on approach to SYD

A raucous greeting in Sydney that will make you smile

One of the easiest train rides from airport to city I’ve experienced in a while

Currently, QANTAS economy class roundtrip fares between San Francisco and Sydney are in the $1,400 range (but can dip as low as $1,000 during periodic fare sales). Premium economy fares are about $3,000 round trip, and business class roundtrips run from about $8,000 to $10,000. QANTAS does not offer first class on its SFO-SYD flights. United and QANTAS offer the only nonstops between SFO and SYD and their fares are identical.*

QANTAS covered the cost of my flights, but TravelSkills paid for hotels, meals and transfers related to this five-day trip.

So glad to be upstairs on the 747! Wow! (Chris McGinnis)

Checking in at SFO for an 11:25 pm departure was fast and easy. My ticket did not allow me to select a seat ahead of time, so I was worried that I’d be stuck in one of the few middle seats in business class. So I arrived at the airport early planning to spend a couple hours working in the lounge. Lo and behold, at check in there was one seat left upstairs in the “business class bubble” so I snagged it! Seat 14B is an aisle exit row, so I had miles of legroom. How much? See this.

At SFO, QANTAS passengers must use the Air France / KLM lounge. While I was hoping that I might be able to slip into the lounges of Oneworld partners such as British Airways or Cathay Pacific, I learned that due to crowding issues at night, QANTAS passengers are only provided access to the Air France / KLM Lounge.

QANTAS uses the Air France lounge at SFO- this is one of two rooms (Chris McGinnis)

My expectations for the lounge were set low– I had heard that there was nothing special about this lounge. But when I entered, I was greeted nicely by two fun and interesting agents who explained to me that I had to be sure and see BOTH rooms in the lounge. Apparently, many lounge visitors think the lounge is just the first room you see (above). But there’s a somewhat hidden door that leads to a much larger room with a big buffet, and plenty of tables and chairs. The back room was definitely where the action was.

A relic from its Northwest Airlines past- the Air France lounge still sports a fireplace (Chris McGinnis)

This lounge used to belong to Northwest Airlines. Remember when most NWA lounges had fireplaces? This relic (not working) is still there, which adds a homey feel to the space. Apparently the fireplace will be removed next time this lounge is updated.

A friendly attendant passes around cups of warm fried rice that hits the spot at 10 pm (Chris McGinnis)

What the Air France / KLM lounge lacks in atmosphere is made up for in the service you get once inside. As I said, the door agents were fun and friendly (we joked about feeling French when flying to Australia). Inside the lounge, servers were all over the place, passing snacks, cleaning up and interacting with travelers. I arrived early, and the place was pretty empty, but as flight time approached, seat space became scant– it was a good thing that they had staffed up for the crunch.

I was impressed by the amount and variety of food and drink on offer at the KLM / AF lounge that QANTAS uses. The lounge also had a noisy and convivial feel– mostly Australians enjoying a beer and time with friends and colleagues on their way home.

Stairway to heaven: inside the business class bubble on a 747 (Chris McGinnis)

Due to my status as a travel writer, I received a special favor– I asked if I could board five minutes early so I could get some good photos of the plane before it filled up with passengers. At the last minute my wish was granted, so I scrambled on board, up the “stairway to heaven,” threw my bags down and took off with flight attendant Jerry for a quick tour of the plane INCLUDING a look at the secret crew rest area in the aft section of the “bubble” with access via a special stairway from the main deck. See that here or scroll to the bottom for the video. This big bird has a crew of 14 flight attendants and four pilots and on a 14+ hour flight, they need a place to hide!

There’s not a better place in the world than upstairs in business class on a Boeing 747-400. On QANTAS there are 18 seats up here configured 2-2 with a galley in the back and a lavatory and door to the cockpit up front. I was seated in 14B- the seat (seen below) with the suitcase in front of it. Not only is it in the cosy confines of the business class bubble, it’s an exit row seat. Upside of this seat: limitless legroom and no interference from your neighbor getting up. Downside: In seat storage is almost nil– window seat passengers get those nice big bins along the windows, but aisle seats don’t. Another downside with this seat: it’s tough seeing out the windows.

QANTAS 747-400 business class seats are the same ones you’ll find on its A380s– fully flat, lumbar controls and with a nice massage feature. The massage was nice, but controlling it via these buttons was difficult.

There is no wi-fi onboard QANTAS 747s.

Main deck business class on QANTAS 747-400 (Image: Seatguru)

Row 1 on the main deck- I call these “windshield seats” because of the curvature of the plane in the nose (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

While upstairs is nice, downstairs in the nose of the 747 is a pretty nice space, too. Especially if you are seated in row 1– these seats are super private and quiet and insiders say that this is usually where QANTAS seats its superstar VIP guests.

The best seats on the main deck are row 1 (for privacy) and also row 5 if you are traveling alone- that’s because these two seats (B&J) are solo seats– there’s no one seated next to you. See what I mean here on the 747-400 V2 three class layout on SeatGuru. Seats to avoid if possible would be the three middle seats on row 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Economy class on QANTAS 747 configured 3-4-3 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There are 270 economy class seats on this big bird. One cabin is green (pictured), the other is pinkish maroon. The best seats are those in the mid-cabin area. Avoid seats at the front or the rear of the cabins due to lines that form near lavatories.

Back upstairs in business class… we took off on time at 11:25 pm. Shortly thereafter, a mad rush for the lavatory ensued as everyone was eager to change into pajamas for the long night ahead. This was also the time that flight attendants helped passengers position nice quilted cotton seat covers over cushions that really helped with the coziness factor of the cabin. (See below)

QANTAS SFO flight departs at 11:25 pm and arrives SYD about 14 hours later at about 8:00 am two days later (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I’m usually not one to fuss over pajamas, but on a 14+ hour flight it was very nice to change into a shirt I’d not spent the night in. Plus, you get to keep the PJs for use at home (or for gifting those who did not get to go on this trip).

Salmon with spinach & sauteed eggplant (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I was disappointed that we did not get any menus on this flight… I usually like to peruse and photograph them. But on this flight there was a snafu due to the change from February to March, and the menus did not get loaded. So my choice was made based on a description provided by the flight attendant. I chose to go with salmon and was not disappointed. It tasted delicious, and was a right sized portion. Not pictured is the bread– flight attendants roll out two big loaves of warm bread (sourdough and whole wheat) which they offer while serving the main course. Warm bread is always nice.

Since I knew I’d be trying to sleep on this flight, I ate about half my entree and a few bites of this cool and velvety vanilla custard. After that, it was time to hit the sack on my cozy quilted lie flat seat.

Quilted seat covers help! Flight attendants place them at passengers’ request before or after meal (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I tried to watch “The Intern” after my meal, but started to doze off. Once I put my seat down, Jerry was there with a bottle of flower-enhanced Balance water– supposedly to help with jet lag. You know what? It worked! No jet lag at all on this trip. But that might have more to do with the fact that I slept for 8 hours on this flight…. amazing because I rarely get 8 hours at home!

Here’s what worked for me: First, of course is the true lie-flat seat upstairs on a 747. Second, I made it a point to eat lightly and only had one glass of wine with dinner. Third, on this flight I tried using Mack’s Moldable Silicone Earplugs– each one is a small plug of translucent putty that covers up your entire ear canal and truly blocks out all sound. That, along with my Bucky eyemask and I was down for the count!

Special jet lag water provided to get you through the night (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

On this flight I slept for nearly 8 hours — I remember falling asleep as we approached Hawaii and I woke up with only about 2-3 hours flying time left! Wow!

I could not believe my eyes when I woke up and looked at my watch at around 6 am Sydney time. Perfect time for a flat white!

Woke up to a fine flat white prepared by flight attendant (Chris McGinnis)

I strolled back to the galley to find the second of two flight attendants plating breakfast and making toast in a big toaster– that burnt bread smell reminded me of breakfast at my Canadian Granny’s house!

After a full night of sleep and a flat white, I was raring to go. In that sharpened state, I asked our flight attendant if I could pass my camera to the pilots to take some shots of the approach to SYD. They agreed and took about 30 shots- the best of which I posted below. Very cool!

A quick thanks to the crew for helping me out with some photos (Chris McGinnis)

Arrival at Sydney was quick and easy via kiosk. No lines at all at 8 am.

Quick and easy entry via kiosk at SYD (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Now this was a surprise: Sydney’s big Mardi Gras festival was taking place during the week I was there… and the airport had drag queens welcoming flights– which caused quite a stir as we filed past them. One of them looked at me and said, “Sir, you must have flown in business class because you are looking fresh as a flower this morning!” I had to agree– and pose for a few selfies 🙂

Since it was Mardi Gras in Sydney, our flight was greeted by some festive drag queens. What a welcome! (Chris McGinnis)

Getting into the city for my meetings was a cinch using the quick and easy Airport Link, which takes about 20 minutes to reach the Central Business District or “CBD” as Sydneysiders say.

A quick, easy, one-seat ride from airport to central business district or CBD (Photo: Chris McGinnis)